Redemption in unusual connections
by mordereddo
Summary: Shigaraki Tomura is captured and so are the rest of his companions. The League of Villains is no more and society's trust in Heroes seems to be restored. All Might visits the young villain in jail. No spoiler beyond Season 3. No pairing, no sexual content. Heavily All Might & Shigaraki focused.
1. Chapter I

**Short Summary:** Shigaraki Tomura is captured and so are the rest of his companions. The League of Villains is no more and society's trust in Heroes seems to be restored. All Might visits the young villain in jail. No spoilers past season three.

No Spoilers beyond Anime season 3.  
No pairing, no sexual content.

 **Author's note:** English is not my first language but I wanted to make this available for as many people as possible.

This is also a warning that this story is not going to be morally correct. I do not believe that all humans are redeemable and I do not believe that all things should be forgiven. However, this is just fiction and this story specifically is about exploring the relationship of a "hero" and a "villain" and how an idealistic/optimistic ending could look like. I like generic stories with a happy ending – so if you're not into forgiving the "villain" I can see that, but this story may not be for you.

Additionally, I have revised/replaced all chapters while writing chapter 20 and hope that they're less cringy to read now. Re-reading my own story, I realised how many deux-ex-machina moments were built in to make the story progress. I can't write and I know that, this is just for fun. I have also removed some (unimportant) notes.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER I – FOR NANA**

All Might stood nervously in front of the heavy cell door of Shigaraki's cell. He had been told that the room that held Shigaraki was made out of the best steel in the world. It didn't matter, this alone would not keep Shigaraki inside - his quirk would simply decay the material, which was why they had come up with an additional solution: While he had been restrained in the hospital after being beaten by young Midoriya and Bakugou in an unimaginable team effort between the two, the doctors had clothed his index-finger with a glove fabricated of special polypropylene, while his pinkie was held into a different glove made out of metallic fibres. This way he would always be touching two different materials at once, meaning that he couldn't use his quirk as long as he wore them. The gloves were connected to his wrists, squeezing them painfully and stopping the blood circulation as soon as Shigaraki tried to take them off.

All Might shuddered when he thought about how the justice he used to be the face of could use devices like that, even for a criminal. But then again, there seemed to be no other way to keep Shigaraki from breaking out.

How useful his quirk would have been, had he chosen a different path..

The once number one hero sighed and looked through the only little window into the cell.

Shigaraki Tomura was sitting on his knees on the cold cement ground, his hands on his legs and his back crooked, his face hidden beneath the mop that was his fair silverish hair. He wore a black t-shirt, exposing the bandages that covered his arms. All Might immediately felt sick seeing that they hadn't been changed in a while, being soaked with old brown blood.

He had been told that Shigaraki would scream and attack everyone that came near to him, so that they had to wait until he passed out from exhaustion before they could touch him. When Shigaraki would realise that he had been touched or that they had taken a blood sample, he would get so angry as to thrash everything inside his cell, which was why his once luxurious room including a table, a chair, various books and even videogames (!) had been emptied more and more every day.

It was because of All Might that they had brought him videogame systems and books, out of his old room near the bar hideout of the league, in the first place. The police had found it by accident, shortly after what had happened in Kamino while they were looking for clues in the area. All Might had visited the room as well. He didn't remember anything unusual for a young man in his early twenties. Besides books and videogames, the shelves had contained everything from action figures to a lava lamp to even a wet specimen. The walls had been plastered with maps and news articles about All Might and other heroes.

All for One had probably raised the boy with a reward system, buying him everything he wanted as long as he did his "homework", stimulating his brain and spoiling him at the same time.

The police then had confiscated all of Shigarakis belongings from the computer to every empty soda can (and there had been a lot them!) but nothing ended up being of value. All of the stuff that hadn't been brought to his cell had been disposed of; burnt to ashes.

When there had been nothing left to destroy, Shigaraki had proceeded to dig his nails into his neck until his blood loss had been so drastic that he had passed out. It was the one time they had to take him back to the villain hospital. Even Recovery Girl had been called for assistance but since Shigaraki was so thin, healing him with her quirk would have taken too many reserves out of him so that he probably would have died. He had to recover slowly on his own, spending most of the days asleep.

About a week after that incident, when Shigaraki had been brought back into his cell, he had reamed his own arms against the rug until he had passed out again. Luckily, the damage had not been as grave as with his neck. The rug had then been removed as well, leaving him with nothing but a thin mattress, a toilet and a sink. The villain only stopped hurting himself after being warned that he would be drugged into submission if he continued on like this.

It had now been almost a month since they had captured him and All Might had finally been given the permission by the authorities to visit him. He knew that Shigaraki wouldn't answer to any psychiatrists, making the legal process even more difficult than it already was. The judges knew that his upbringing suggested manipulation, which was the reason for him not being completely restrained full-time like All for One or Stain, but they still argued that all of his actions were made consciously.

And they were: He didn't show regret or remorse, but then again, he really didn't show anything except for hate and anger towards all around him and the despise he carried for himself.

"All Might?", the prison guard that had brought him here asked, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Are you alright?"

All Might nodded weakly: "Yes, don't worry. I just can't stand to see such a young man be hind bars. He should be out living his life to the fullest."

"He's dangerous.", the prison guard told him and typed in the code for the door to unlock, "But I get what you mean. I have a son around his age."

He then pulled open the heavy steel door and All Might's heartbeat sped up.

"Shigaraki, you have a visitor. Use the time well. If you try anything funny, we will take action.", the guard warned the prisoner but Shigaraki didn't even look up. The guard then turned back to All Might.

"You have an hour max. The conversation will be confidential but we will watch you through the monitor just in case."

He then left the two and closed the heavy door again, keeping it unlocked in case of emer gency. All Might had already been informed prior to not get to close to Shigaraki and that he would have to sit on the ground, since no chairs or any other materials that could be used as weapons were allowed into the cell anymore. It was okay though, he was happy that the judge had at least allowed their conversation to stay between the two. He didn't want too many people to know about his personal attachment to the criminal.

All Might looked at the boy – _he isn't really a boy anymore,_ he reminded himself but couldn't help but see a child in front of him – and felt his heart break. He needed to be objective, but all he could see was Shimura Nana's grandson. How happy she would have been to be a grandmother and he imagined her holding a child with fluffy pale hair and red eyes, smiling-

His mentor had given up her only son, Shigaraki's father, for him to grow up away from the dangers that affected the life of a hero, only for All for One to torment her even in death by abducting her grand child and twist him into this.. _monster_.

Time was running and All Might needed to use it. He was only allowed two one-hour visits per month, for the beginning at least, and All Might didn't want to waste precious seconds. So he sat onto the cold hard floor and folded his hands. A last deep breath and _lets go!_

"Shigaraki, there are some things we need to discuss.", he started getting right to the point and noticed how the villain immediately flinched upon hearing his voice. He hadn't flinched when the guard had spo ken. Was it because he recognized All Might?

The former hero awaited some answer, even just an additional reaction besides the flinching but Shigaraki stayed quiet. Well, he wasn't known to be cooperative with anyone, why would he be with All Might? What exactly had the hero expected out of this visit? Had he actually expected anything at all or did he just want to get know Nana's grandson? Would he ever be able to see the sunlight again, to smile like Nana had smiled?...

 _Focus._

It's wasn't that the court wasn't willing to shorten his lockdown if Shigaraki had agreed to go through therapy, work towards improvement and a will of wanting to fit into society. But Shigaraki didn't want a freedom with restrictions; he didn't want to be oppressed by society and therefore didn't agree to any terms set to him by the court, lawyers, therapists or doctors. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. His mind had been poisoned for so long that All Might's questions were answered right away: It seemed as if Shigaraki would stay in here for the rest of his life.

But All Might wasn't one to give up. He had spent nights thinking about this meeting and he would try different approaches, surprised to find out that his second one would already get him a reaction.

"Shimura?"

Shigaraki slowly looked up, his red eyes wide but clearly tired, most of his face still hidden behind the curtain of hair. He would have actually been a good looking lad if it wasn't for those patches of dry skin, All Might could see that.

However that wasn't important now, he couldn't allow himself to lose Shigaraki's attention.

"That is your name, right?", he asked like he was talking to a friend. The villain didn't answer, just snarled and it was then that a guard's voice echoed through the small cell.

"Shigaraki, you are warned.", said the voice and the leader of the league quickly lowered his head again. He knew that misbehaving meant that they drugged him, so he obeyed. Being caged was one thing but being completely helpless and at their mercy something else entirely.

"I just want to talk.", All Might continued and Shigaraki looked up again. All Might hadn't expected to get any answers at all, at least from this first visit but Shigaraki seemed to be good for a surprise.

"Have them kill me.", he answered, his voice raspy from the constant screaming but All Might could still her the anger and hatred in it. He felt his own heart rip apart.

"Kill me while you can. Because when I get out of here, I will tear down this world. I will kill all of you in the most painful way possible."

All Might sighed. These were the only answers he was giving when he answered on the rare occasion: threats. You would think that after one month of isolation and total lockdown, he would start to break. None of that with Shigaraki.

"What did All for One do to you?", he asked, his voice full of concern that he wasn't able to hide.

Shigaraki then showed one of his crude evil smiles, forming more cracks into his dry lips. It was what came next that All Might didn't foresee. He knew that even with that naiveté of his, Shigaraki was still intelligent and cunning. And because he hadn't thought about that, he was taken off guard.

"Tell me, All Might, do you care so much for me that you would make them go so far as to give me this cosy cell whereas other villains are not even able to feed themselves? Is it because you think that I was used by my Sensei? That I deserve a second chance?", he said quietly and slightly leaned forwards.

Surprisingly, no warning came this time so All Might assumed that there was no danger for now.

"You're partially right. I care because this isn't you. You were not born this way and I am convinced that you can change. You should have been informed that if you went through therap-", he tried to explain, but was cut off by Shigaraki laughing out loud. All Might wasn't surprised that Shigaraki thought of all of this as a joke. This young man seemed to have gone way past sanity a long time ago.

How could All Might even know if Shigaraki wouldn't have ended up the way he did if All for One hadn't been involved? Maybe this was truly him, maybe he had made himself this way, maybe…

 _"Shigaraki was already born twisted. Only one with a mind like his could be my successor."_

All for One's words.

 _No_.

He was of Nana's blood.

The laughing stopped.

"What makes you so sure, All Might? Do you think that you have me all figured out just because of a name?", the prisoner then asked, keeping his voice low.

"No, I don't."

This answer seemed to satisfy Shigaraki because he smiled again. But All Might wasn't done.

"But I want to help you either way. I made a promise to your grandmother, before she was killed."

This was when the climate inside the cell began to change. This was dangerous territory but All Might had no choice.

Shigaraki's was already naturally pale, most likely an outcome of having had to hide constantly, but he looked like a sheet of paper now. His smile disappeared and was replaced with an angry look, his hands which had laid flat on his legs for all of their conversation suddenly clenched into fists.

"Shigaraki, calm down. This is your last warning.", came the voice through the ceiling again. But it didn't show any effect on the criminal, his attention now fully on All Might.

"What the fuck does that matter? If she was friends with you, she was probably a wretched hero too!"

"Nana just wanted to protect her family. I don't know what happened to her son, your father, but all of this should never have happened."

Who would have thought that her child would grow up to have a child of his own who would then turn out to be one of Japan's most wanted villains? On the other hand, it wasn't _that_ surprising knowing that All for One had been involved.

"Where the fuck are you going with this?", Shigaraki asked, his voice now trembling and his face hidden again. It was a warning but All Might never backed down. If he wanted to get the upper hand in this conversation, he needed to push Shigaraki out of his comfort zone to where he couldn't defend himself.

"I wish I could have been there when you needed me. But All for One got to you first. After he killed Nana.", he further provoked and noticed how Shigaraki's body started to tremble as well.

"Shut up, shut the fuck up. Fuck off.", he murmured but All Might wasn't planning on going anywhere. He was not a therapist but he was sure that Shigaraki needed to confront whatever had happened in his past so that he could find the right path. Like a bone that had healed the wrong way, he needed to break him again so that the kid could let go and heal properly. If Shigaraki would let him was a different question, but All Might _had_ to try.

"Shimura, let me hel-.", All Might asked, almost pleaded, but was interrupted again.

"Don't fucking call me that.", another warning came and Shigaraki started to dig his nails into his bandaged arms. The nails had been clipped so short that he wouldn't be able to scratch dangerously deep, but it still took All Might a lot of effort no to grab the young man's wrists and tear them away from his arms.

"We're stopping this. Shigaraki back off.", the voice said fast and All Might trusted the guards of Tartarus enough to know that this situation was getting out of hand. He wouldn't be able to change their mind and prepared to leave but before he could get up, Shigaraki threw himself onto him, grabbing his throat with slender but strong hands and choking him.

All Might didn't panic; he had been a hero for so long, he was used to people trying to kill him. He knew that the guards would be in here any second now, but he still grabbed Shigaraki's wrists and tried to push them away. In this form however he didn't stand a chance. Shigaraki was heavier then he looked, pressing his bony knees into All Might's chest, his eyes a gleaming red that screamed in anger and hate in a way that made All Might ask himself why he had decided to come here.

It was obviously too late for him. Nothing All Might could do would ever bring down this mountain of hate that had piled up over all these years. He was sure that he couldn't bring Shigaraki back on the path of righteousness. He could just give up now.

It would be the smartest of decisions, wouldn't it?

Probably.

But he had to _try_.

 _For Nana._

"Your fault! This is your fault! I hate you! I'll kill you!", Shigaraki screamed through his teeth but was suddenly pulled off All Might, who caught the precious air as soon as his throat was free again. He sat up slowly, coughing and rubbing his neck. His attacker was thrown violently to the floor by four guards, fighting like a prey for its survival and screaming curses and threats about how he was going to kill them. He didn't even realize that a guard had already pushed a syringe into his right arm, drugging and calming him in minutes.

Soon Shigaraki's screams became mumbles and although he was still trying to get up, his body wouldn't obey him.

All Might, who had stood up and watched, became sick. He didn't blame the guards, they had to stop him _somehow_ , he just didn't feel good watching someone get unwillingly drugged into submission, even a villain. It felt like they were stripping away the last inches of his humanity.

"Is everything alright? Are you hurt?", the guard that had let him inside asked and All Might shook his head. With all these people inside, the cell suddenly felt so tiny.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for reacting the way you did."

"You should get your neck checked, just in case.", the guard advised but All Might shook his head.

"No, really, it's alright.", he assured the man again and added one of his signature smiles. It wasn't the same as it used to, considering he was now walking around in his true form all the time, but he still got the feeling that the guard had been satisfied with his answer. Remembering that he too was now one of those who needed to 'be protected', he brushed off the feeling of annoyance he had gotten because of the guard's worry. He had just meant well and it was his job after all, All Might should have been thankful.

His attention went back to Shigaraki, who was now lying still, staring at the ceiling but still mumbling. He prepared to leave with the guards, who had already left the cell, only to turn back again and walk towards Shigaraki, kneeling down next to him, slowly reaching out – slowly, as if he feared that Shigaraki would bite him.

The villain didn't even look at him though and All Might was sure that he wasn't able to; he just kept staring to the ceiling, mumbling things about 'Sensei' and 'tearing down this world'.

 _Sensei? All for One.._

Sure that he was safe, All Might put his hand onto Shigaraki's head, combing through his unkempt hair, exposing his face. It was an awfully personal gesture and he knew that the guards would talk about it as soon as he had left, but it didn't matter.

Now _he_ knew that his desire to save Shigaraki Tomura from not only All for One's teachings, but also from himself, was more important to him then the world knowing about his attachment towards the boy and his family.


	2. Chapter II

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER II – HE WAS CHAOS**

The sun was already setting when All Might got back to UA, drowning the block of buildings in warm colours of orange, red and yellow slowly turning into pink and purple. It was an amazing view and it somehow reminded him of the past. Back when Nana was still around..  
He had never told her but to him, she had been like a mother.

"All Might!", someone with a voice full of joy called.

Midoriya.  
He turned around, greeting the student with a waving hand.

Midoriya Izuku was his protégé, his apprentice and All Might knew that although the student looked at him with utter adoration, he was slowly but surely becoming independent. And that was alright: Midoriya wasn't All Might – he was his own person (unlike Shigaraki, who only seemed what All for One had formed him to be…).

Midoriya's apprenticeship at UA was almost over, less than a semester before he and the others would get their professional licenses – unless they'd failed, of course. But All Might wasn't too worried about that, they all had too much potential. Maybe that was the reason Aizawa hadn't ever expelled anyone in that class.

Images of his first encounter with Midoriya flashed through All Might's mind. A courageous, quirkless boy taking action when All Might himself couldn't. The kid had always been so selfless, it was almost angelic.

Still, Midoriya had changed a lot in these years. Not just his strength or his ability to use One for All to almost its full extent – he had grown taller, his facial features had lost the baby fat and most importantly, he had become more confident in himself.

All Might caught himself dwelling on past events again. He shook his thoughts away, coming back to the here and now.

"Hey kid, looking good. How was school?", he asked when Midoriya had reached him.

He looked strong and healthy and although he had grown, he still couldn't quite reach All Might's height, even in his skeleton form.

"Ah, the usual! Mr. Aizawa won't let us get a minute of rest!", he said while scratching the back of his head.

"I'd be surprised if he did."

Midoriya smiled, erupting pure happiness and it was hard for the past pro-hero not to get attached by it. He was a proud teacher, not only of Midoriya but of all of them. Class 3-A really was special, not that 3-B wasn't, but 3-A was just.. something else.

"So, where's the rest of your squad?", he proceeded to ask, not seeing another single student on the area.

"They're all back at the dorms.", Midoriya explained, "I wanted to go for a jog before homework."

"Mind if I join?", and Midoriya's face lit up once again.

* * *

When they arrived at the Dagobah beach, the sky was already a deep blue, revealing a galaxy full of shining stars and a half moon which lit the land in shimmering light. They had not exchanged a lot of words on the way here and All Might was thankful for that. After talking with Tsukauchi about his visit from earlier, he had just wanted to get his head free. Going for a jog was always a good thing to achieve that.

They both sat down exhausted (but not before All Might had grabbed two empty soda cans someone had left and disposed them properly) and just watched the sea. The wind was warm and comforting and the waves that crashed into the shore gave off a pleasant sound. No one else was there.

"All Might?", his student broke the silence after a minute or so, "What's wrong?"

They were close; too close to expect Midoriya not to suspect anything. He knew that he shouldn't tell Midoriya, or anyone uninvolved in the criminal's case for that matter, but he needed to get this off his chest. He needed to talk to someone who wasn't a police officer like Tsukauchi, someone with a different mindset.

"I was in Tartarus today."

"What happened?! Did someone try a breakout?", was Midoriya's immediate question and when All Might looked at him, the boy's eyes were full of concern.

All Might shook his head: "No, nothing of the sort, don't worry. I just visited someone."

That response didn't satisfy his student, the concern was clearly still written in his orbs.

"I want to help him but.. he won't let me. To be frank, I'm feeling even more powerless then that day at Kamino. At least back then, I still believed that I could help people even without my power. I am not so sure about that anymore.", he explained looking at his bony hands, the words he spoke leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

 _"When you have to save someone, they're usually in a scary situation. A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their spirits... That's what I believe. So no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile, as if to say, "I'm a-ok". The people in this world who can smile are always the strongest."_

 _Master, why did you have to go so soon? There was still so much I needed to learn. How can I save someone who doesn't want to be saved?_

"Can I.. can I know who it is?", Midoriya asked carefully.

The ex-hero wanted to deny the request when Midoriya spoke up again: "I promise I won't tell anyone!"

The older one decided to tell him this little detail as well. If he did get in trouble, so be it, but he was sure that the rumours of All Might getting close to one of Japan's most dangerous villains was already making the round thanks to the guards who had seen him giving the kid some sort of affection.

When he told Midoriya, he expected his protégé to get angry and shout at him. It had been Midoriya and Bakugou after all, who had put Shigaraki behind bars.

But Midoriya was.. happy? He was smiling?

"You're truly still the greatest, All Might!", his student said and clenched his fists in excitement.

"Excuse me?", All Might was taken aback and confused by the kid's reaction.

"Even when everyone else has given up on him you're still fighting! With or without One for All you're still fighting! I hope I can one day become a hero like you!"

 _Young Midoriya..You are pure light._

"You will become an even greater one."

The younger one's eyes filled with tears when he heard that but he managed to hold them back.

Ah yes, Midoriya didn't cry as much anymore. Who would have ever thought?

"Don't give up All Might,", the kid went back to the topic, "I am sure he's just afraid! I would be too if I was in Tartarus."

 _Afraid, huh?..._

 _That's it!_

* * *

Two weeks later when All Might returned to Tartarus, Sorahiko – better known as _Gran Torino_ –, was awaiting him in front of the high security prison's entrance.

"Already getting attached to the kid I see, eh Toshinori?", he greeted him accusatory. Well, not that it was wrong.

All Might scratched the back of his head, his sunken cheeks blushing while his lips pulled into a smile: "Good to see you too, _Master_."

The older man just sighed and All Might was sure he wanted to say something like _'You never change.'_ , but Gran Torino stayed silent.

When they entered the building, All Might noticed for the first time how old Gran Torino had really gotten. He had become even shorter, his back bucked and his pace was slow and careful. Not even the hero uniform he was wearing could hide it anymore; soon Gran Torino would have to retire for good.

They provided the license from the court to the guards and let themselves get checked before passing the metal detectors.

"Approved. You may pass to the cells now.", the guard then said and showed them the way.

"I did request a special item to be brought into the cell last week. Is it there?", All Might asked the guard while they were taking the elevator to the lower floors, passing the levels in which All for One and Stain were kept.

"Yes, the requested item has been approved and prepared, All Might.", the guard explained just as the door to the requested floor opened. Gran Torino couldn't help but look around like a child in awe – he had never been on the lower floors of Tartarus, leaving the visits and the talking to the professionals. But this time, he had decided to go visit his friend's grandson as well, although he tried to tell himself that it was for reasons that could help prevent future criminality. He knew that wasn't true.

When they arrived, the guard took up a small box that was placed in front of the door and quickly handed it to All Might, who took it before the guard let it drop. His face was twisted up in disgust and he was visibly pleased not having to hold it any longer.  
The box was heavier than expected, not because of the weight of the item inside, but because it could be the key to getting Shigaraki to talk to him.

"Before I let you inside you need to hear the rules again. I know you've heard them before, All Might, but I am obligated.", he said and looked at All Might with eyes that seemed to ask for permission to continue. So the hero nodded.

"The visit is limited to one hour and we are allowed to intervene whenever we feel the situation could escalate. No items which could be used as a weapon are allowed into the cell, exceptions are made for us and the doctors in charge for the prisoner. Since you've requested a license for the item you're holding, it can be brought in without legal consequences. There is still no furniture in the cell, so you will have to accommodate yourself. We will be watching you for the whole hour, however all microphones inside are muted, since this was also approved by the high court. You are not allowed to talk about the news or any other general outside information."

All Might and Gran Torino simultaneously nodded. A lot of rules but nothing that would incapacitate them in any way.

"Now, onto the prisoner; Shigaraki has been beyond difficult during those past weeks.", the guard said and his tone of voice showed a hint of sorrow. He was specifically looking at All Might and the hero recognised him as the one guard who had told him about having a son around Shigaraki's age.

"After you left, he had tried to pull out his hair and had scratched open his own face, even in his drugged state. No serious damage was done, but he then started to refuse any kind of food or water. The doctors had to force it into him, drugging him every time since he's become quite rebellious again. If they keep doing this, he will more likely die from an overdose than from hunger."

All Might felt sick again. Did he really want to go inside?

...Yes. Yes he wanted to. He had to try to save him.

For Nana.

"Die?", Gran Torino repeated. The guard then looked at him.

"Yes. They didn't tell us what they use to calm him but from what I understand, it's an extremely dangerous injection and since Shigaraki's already underweight, calculating the proper amount is difficult. Also, his body still needs time to dissolve it.", he explained as good as he could. Gran Torino crossed his arms while digesting what he just had heard and looked up to All Might, who on the other hand had not been listening but staring at the heavy door of the cell.

The guard then unlocked it and stepped in, followed by the older man first. All Might took a last deep breath and followed.

Shigaraki was laying with his back on his thin mattress, the bandages on his arms removed, revealing pale soft skin covered in dozen of still red scars. His hands lay folded on his chest while one finger of each hand was lifted up.

 _Even with his gloves on. Old habits die hard._

"Visitors, Shigaraki. Try to keep yourself together this time.", the guard announced and then left them, closing the heavy cell door but keeping it unlocked, just in case.

"You brought another player, All Might.", Shigaraki spoke up first to both of the heroes' surprise. His voice was so hoarse, he must have been screaming for hours these past days.

"I'm not sure you remember, but we've already met, Shigaraki Tomura.", Gran Torino said and slowly sat onto the stone cold floor. All Might copied that, never leaving his eyes of Shigaraki, who was still starring at the ceiling. He was sober this time, his vision focused and his scarlet eyes didn't hold that fleeting gray shadow they had when he was drugged.

"I remember, old man.", he said slowly, the raspy voice making him sound more menacing and evil. Gran Torino smirked at that remark."Charming as always."

Shigaraki then sat up, crossed his legs and leaned back against the wall, directly facing the two visitors. While he moved, All Might noticed the bones under his pale skin and how spidery all of his limbs looked. Yes, he had always been very slender, but now there was nothing on him and although he tried not to show, All Might knew what a struggling body looked like. Shigaraki was clearly giving it his all just to sit up.

 _I still need to be cautious with him, even with Gran Torino here._ , he said to himself and glimpsed at the older man. Right now he was sure that the villain would not attack them. Shigaraki wasn't dumb: he couldn't use his quirk and although he was faster than All Might, he still couldn't measure himself with someone whose quirk was speed itself.

"We have an offer for you, Shimura.", All Might started and placed the box he had been holding in front of him. He could feel Gran Torino's eyes on him, clearly annoyed by the fact that he had already gotten so attached to the boy that he had switched to using his real name. All Might ignored him and instead looked at Shigaraki who had his head lowered, his pale hair hanging like a curtain in front of his face.

"I told you not to fucking call me that.", his voice was already dripping with poison and his hands clenched in fists, still holding the pointing fingers up, even if he didn't need to.

"Will you listen to what I have to say?", the skinny symbol of peace dodged the threat and just went on with what he had planned. This time Shigaraki stayed silent and looked away. The villain released his clenched fingers and cracked them as if preparing for a fight.

"Don't you dare move from that spot, Shigaraki Tomura.", Gran Torino warned him. The warning had been unnecessary; All Might knew that Shigaraki wasn't going to attack them, even if he smelled of bloodlust. The former hero was trying to build up a relationship to this prisoner, but his master wasn't helping. He understood that Gran Torino was just doing his job and treating Shigaraki like he deserved to be treated: like a criminal. Yes, he may have been abducted as a kid and raised to be a villain, but he had still acted on his own accord.

Gran Torino was right, no matter from which angle you looked at it, but All Might just couldn't help it. This young man deserved so much more. Actually not only him, but also his companions and other criminals – they just needed someone to guide them.

"What I have here in this box may be of your interest. I am willing to give it to you if you agree to my conditions."

That caught Shigaraki's attention: he shook the hair out of his face and peaked at the box. The cut nails were already digging into the soft healing skin of his arms again. After he seemed to realize that he had been staring with such obvious curiosity, he immediately leaned back to the wall and crossed his arms in defence and distaste.

"There's nothing you can give me, _All Might_.", his words were like knives with the intent to kill.

"You're a smart guy, Shigaraki Tomura, but you lack experience. We wouldn't have brought this item if we had been unsure about this.", Gran Torino now interfered and got himself an angry glare of Shigaraki's burning eyes.

"What the fuck would an old man like you know?", he spat, his voice rising and his finger trying to hold onto something he could disintegrate, right now his own arms.

Silence followed for a few seconds and Shigaraki bit his cracked lip before finally saying: "Give it to me."

It wasn't a request, it was an order, but the heroes were not intimidated, not even by that hoarse, low voice of his. On the contrary; All Might sighed and Gran Torino shook his head.

"We are trying to help you, young Shimura. You can either accept my conditions and keep what's inside the box or we will leave this place and you will never see us, the item or anything other than your cell ever again.", All Might tried again. His master's grandson was unstable in every way possible. Shigaraki was not loyal to anyone but his teacher. He was stubborn, selfish, arrogant and still very childish. And because of that he was dangerous. Sacrifices? Casualties? The costs didn't matter as long as he could reach his goals. He wasn't meant to live in a society – he was so full of hate, he was chaos, he was like a typhoon in a village of houses made of nothing but leaves. All Might knew that in thousand lives Shigaraki would have always told them to leave him in this cell to rot.

But he didn't.

Because of the item.

Because it was probably the only thing beside All for One that could give him some sort of comfort.

This was the reason the criminal had stayed silent for minutes now. He was torn between showing how strong he was and just wanting that **disgusting** disembodied hand in that box!

"GIVE IT TO ME!", he threw himself towards All Might, his fingers spread wide, ready to grab the hero's throat. But Gran Torino was faster and before Shigaraki could even touch one of them, the older man kicked him back onto the wall. It was then that the voice of the guards echoed through the cell for the first time during this meeting.

"We will intervene unless you tell us not to, All Might."

All Might stared into the camera hanging from one of the ceiling's corners and explicitly shook his head. No answer came but the door stayed close. Relief washed over him.

Shigaraki was in no shape to fight. He was sitting on his knees, his back bucked while he was holding his stomach and he coughed so that a thin line of blood flowed down to chin.

"Bastard.", he managed to get out before coughing again and moaning in pain while still hugging his hurting stomach.

This shouldn't have hurt him _at all_ but he already looked completely devastated.

"This is your last chance, Shigaraki. Will you _please_ just listen to my request?"

Scarlet eyes looked up to him and for a while, they just stared each other until Shigaraki slowly leaned back onto the wall, still holding himself and answered: "Just because you _begged_."

Finally.

"I have three conditions you have to meet from here on now as closely as possible. First off, you will start therapy, meaning you will follow the doctor and psychiatrist's wishes and orders as well as trying to better yourself. The better you act, the more freedom the court is willing to give you."

"Fuck the court.", Shigaraki commented and All Might ignored him. Gran Torino just smirked and shook his head again.

"My second condition is that you will agree to me visiting you twice a week."

"I wonder why.", Shigaraki sarcastically added and rolled his eyes while pulling his cracked lips into one of his creepy smiles. How was it even possible for someone to smile like that?, "What's your last point, symbol of peace?"

Even Gran Torino turned to look at All Might. His apprentice had quickly informed him about the two conditions on the way down here but he hadn't mentioned a third one. Had he made that up just now? He couldn't think of anything.

"I want to call you by your first name."


	3. Chapter III

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER III – SHIMURA TENKO IS DEAD**

All Might and Gran Torino stepped out of Tartarus and into Tsukauchi police car. The officer then started the engine and drove back over to bridge that connected the high security prison to the main island. First destination was Yamanashi prefecture, Gran Torino's home. Then Tsukauchi would drive All Might back to Musutafu.

They should have been talking about today's visit, but Gran Torino had remained quiet from the moment they left the cell. All Might wasn't surprised by his teacher being annoyed and Tsukauchi was kind enough not to push the subject.

After some minutes of driving and angrily staring out the car windows, Gran Torino spoke his mind: "This is going too fast, Toshinori. You are pushing your boundaries."

"I knew you would say that.", All Might said and guilt hit him.

"Toshinori, you don't understand. This is not me speaking, this is what I can see in the guards eyes. What do you think the media will do once they find out about you visiting him? What will your students' parents do?"

"He's right, you know.", Tsukauchi added.

Another minute of silence followed before All Might spoke again: "I agree with you. There's no way I can morally justify what I'm doing."

Tsukauchi threw a glance into to the rear window, but him and Gran Torino smirking, aware that All Might wasn't done. Yes, he couldn't justify it, but he would continue to do it, no matter the costs. It was their responsibility as his friends to be angry and to talk sense into him, but it in the end, it was him doing the decision. They were all old enough to know that.

"I am torn between doing what's right and doing what my heart tells me too. For years, I have fought for law and order, to protect our society. I know that this will most likely be my hardest challenge, but it's what I want to do. If the world could give me anything in return, this is what I want to have: A chance to save a child who has lost his way and bring him back to the light."

"Oh Toshinori,", Gran Torino said, " _you haven't changed at all._ "

* * *

 _I want to die._

Tomura was alone in his cell again.

And Tomura was shaking. He didn't know why.

Was it because he was angry? Was he feeling frustrated? Or helpless? Something completely different or just all of those emotions mashed together?

He couldn't even tell anymore, he just didn't _want_ any of those feelings. He wanted back that void that had been part of him for as long as he could remember. A void he could feed with hate and death, a void threatening to consume him completely. A void only calmed by Sensei's affection.

Instead he was confused. Not really by All Might's actions: The pest was a hero after all. He was confused by his own!

" _I want to call you by your first name."_ , All Might's third condition echoed in his mind for what felt like the fiftieth time. And what had his dumbass answer been?

" _Whatever."_

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_ , he thought, his hands finding their way up to his scalp and pulling at the fair hair. It was disgusting, oily and sweaty instead of fluffy and soft and it had gotten longer, almost resting on his shoulders now. He would have loved to tear up the dry skin of his own face and arms until he bled out and died, but since his nails had been cut way too short for his liking, he couldn't scratch himself at all. Those doctors had actually sedated him and cut his nails! Somehow he felt undignified by that the most: What was he, some kind of dog they could keep on a leash and cut his claws whenever they felt like it? At least he could still push them inside the soft skin of his healing arms. It didn't make him bleed, but it hurt nonetheless. Unfortunately, it didn't ease the turmoil inside his heart, not even one bit.

His stomach hurt and he hadn't bothered to clean up the dried blood on his chin. Instead, his forehead had been resting on his knees since All Might and that old guy had left the cell. What was his name again? He couldn't remember.

After All Might had named his third condition, he had started to address him with 'Tomura'.

His new name. The name his master had given him. The name _only_ his master addressed him with. And that crazy girl Toga Himiko of course, but she didn't count.

All Might didn't know his real first name and Tomura preferred to keep it that way. That person didn't exist anymore, that person had died alongside his father. His father who had died at his own hands, nothing but a stain of blood on a wooden floor in his memories...

He shooks those thoughts away. They made him human and _normal_. He needed to fill himself with anger and hate.

The symbol of peace had then proceeded to talk about the drugs the doctors had given him during those past weeks and how they were going to kill him or some other shit, but Tomura had not been listening, his mind just fixed on the item in that basic brown cardboard box. Now, the disembodied hand was sitting on his face, but much to his annoyance, it didn't give him the comfort he was used to. It almost felt foreign, maybe because he had not been wearing it for such a long time, but he was not willing to ever remove it. The hand was where it belonged. He would get used to it again in no time.

"Father. I am sorry I let them take you.", he whispered while slowly caressing the cold grey flesh of his parent's hand and he was quickly reminded of those eyes filled with disgust people gave him whenever they saw that hand. They would never understand. Only _Sensei_ under stood. Tomura could only imagine how the guards must have felt, seeing him show affection towards a dead limb and he couldn't help but lift his head and grin into the camera hanging from the ceiling. Of course the speakers remained quiet, but Tomura knew that they were watching and he _wanted_ them to know that he _knew_.

But that little spark of satisfaction was immediately snuffed out by the memories of today's visit. The prisoner couldn't even remember what those damn heroes had said when they had left the cell. He was just glad to be alone again. Confused nonetheless. Why the hell was he confused?! Weren't all of his action supposed to be right, based solely on the fact that they were **_his_** actions?

 _When did I ever start to question myself?_

Was he starting to get insane? Was he really beginning to break? No, that couldn't be it. He already was insane, the very reason this world as it was now held no place for him or any of his followers, there was no way he could get any crazier than that.

Hours passed before the racing feelings inside him calmed themselves. The void he was so familiar with pushed them back into the farthest corner of his mind, tying and caging them up. Darkness returned and the usual thoughts dominated his mind again.

 _I want to kill All Might._

 _I want to die._

 _I want everyone else to die._

 _They didn't want me._

 _I don't need them anymore._

 _I will tear down their world and their moral codes and all of them with it._

* * *

Had it been a few days? To Tomura, it only felt like hours until All Might returned, this time without his ancient watchdog and holding some pillows under his arms. Tomura couldn't help but wonder if this guy had seriously made a request to bring some _fucking pillows_ into the cell?

"I brought these for you. That mattress alone must feel like hell.", All Might said and Tomura cursed himself for staring so carelessly. He averted his eyes and combed the now clean and puffed up hair in front of his face. Yes, it had been washed although not by him. It wasn't as if he did have any choice in that matter. How many times had he been drugged since All Might's last visit? Who could even tell anymore, he just remembered waking up to clean hair and cut nails. Tomura hated being drugged and he'd actually rather obey than being at their mercy (there was nothing wrong with being obedient in this case), but everyone just made it so goddamn difficult for him!

"Where's the hand?", All Might asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He immediately bit his lip and it was obvious that he was thinking about how he could have worded that better.

Did Tomura want to answer? What exactly was the point of all of this? Was All Might really just here because he had made some stupid promise to someone related to him? Tomura couldn't remember ever having known his grandmother, so this promise must've been made even before he was born, a long fucking time ago! But this guy was here for the third time after all, so he must've been serious, right?

 _He ruined Sensei's face. He doesn't care about you. He only cares about your name._

But All Might _did_ care, even if only for his name and that was the point: Maybe this way, Tomura would be able break out or at least kill him.

 _This is an RPG and I am the main character. If I manage to maintain my role and win this bastard's trust, I might be able to get out of here._

Once he was able to use his quirk, it would be easy to free his master and the others. However.. could he really do this? Fake "improvement"? Take the piss out of not only All Might but the guards, the doctors and psychiatrists, his lawyer and all those other fuckers visiting him?

 _What do you have to lose? The symbol of peace is blinded by a promise he made to someone you don't even know, there won't be another chance like this!_

"They took him.", he answered. He was right, he had to try it. So this was Game Start.

"Him..?", All Might questioned and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Father."

His mimic changed from confusion to disgust and Tomura was reminded again of how he didn't belong in the world, at least not before he had rebuilt and reshaped it to his liking. All Might could act as if Tomura would have just been a UA student in any other scenario as long as wanted. Even if some damn heroes had decided to save him that one time when he had been so helpless, he would never have chosen the path of a student at any hero academy. His quirk was made for destruction. He could hurt, he could take away, he could kill – his quirk was only there to bring pain and suffering.

"I can bring it- _him_ back, but you will have to do better than this passed week."

 _A week. A whole week has passed since the last visit. I guess I really was out for good._

After a minute of silence, All Might apparently decided to change the subject. He pulled a white plastic bag out from between the pillows and handed it over to him. Tomura didn't take it, so All Might just placed it on the ground.

"I brought these for you as well. It's socks and shoes."

Tomura just stared at the plastic bag. He didn't feel anything by the "gifts" the hero had brought, not even hate. He was just empty.

"You can take your time, young Tomura. I'm sure you'll like them. The ground in here is so cold, you'll find them useful.", the hero said and his sunken cheeks blushed. There it was, that fucking smile! Oh, how Tomura longed to tear out his guts.

"You do know that I had a fully equipped room? Probably courtesy of yours, right All Might? I crashed all that shit because it came from you! I don't want your fucking help!", he yelled at the hero and averted his eyes again.

 _Way to earn his trust, you fucking idiot. That's not how you play an RPG!_

He couldn't help it, he just hated this guy so very much. As long as All Might lived, as long as Midoriya Izuku or Bakugou Katsuki lived, Tomura could never be truly free of his chains. He had managed to shake society's trust in heroes after that day at Kamino, but who would fear him now that he was in Tartarus?

Eventually, All Might sat down, legs crossed and hands folded.

"Tomura, can't you see we all want to help you? Can't you see how All for One just brainwashed you, used you as his tool to get back at me?", All Might actually sounded desperate and Tomura fed on that and he wanted more: He wanted to feel all the pain he could inflict on the hero and inhale it, take it in like the sweet fresh air someone took after breaking the surface. For some reason, he imagined it smelling like a Japanese black pine after a rainy day. Why exactly had he thought of that specific tree?

"So what if he did?", it was true though, he didn't care if All for One only saw a weapon in him. Sensei had saved him, raised him, taught him and that was all that mattered.

 _Not all of that time was good._

He remembered bits here and there when Sensei had been disappointed and angry, mainly when Tomura hadn't managed to meet his expectations. Those memories sent shivers down his spine to this day, so he naturally buried them deep within his heart, among so many other painful things.

All Might sighed heavily.

"I want you be healthy. We had an agreement; part of it was you listening to the doctors. Please do so and I will arrange for him to be given back to you. What do you think about this?"

Tomura still didn't look at him, but he nodded.

"That's good. You may not believe me yet, but I want you safe, Tomura. It is not me who only cares about your name, it's All for One."

"So fucking what.", Tomura answered annoyed and pulled his slender legs to his body. He wasn't even angry at that accusation, he just really didn't give a shit.. or did he?

"Why don't you tell me something about your life, Tomura? I really want to get to know you better."

"Another change of topic? There's really nothing interesting to say, not that I would want to share any of it with you in the first place.", he said emotionless. He still didn't get the point of all of this. Nothing in the past could be changed. Tomura was and always would be a villain, it was the path he had chosen. There was nothing to gain for All Might by them getting to know each other.

All Might stood up, but when Tomura looked at him, he was surprised to find another one of these stupid trademark smiles instead of disappointment or regret. Sure, All Might may not have looked as strong or 'heroic' as when Tomura first saw him, but the smile was still recognizable. And it gave people all around the world hope.

"Nana used to say that heroes do not only save other people's lives, but their spirits too. And that the people in this world who can smile are always the strongest. I want to see you smile too, Tomura. Not that villainous grin you gave me last time, a sincere innocent smile a young man like you should have. And no matter how much you're fighting it, no matter how much you hate me, I will _save_ you from the darkness."

Anger rose up inside Tomura, but he couldn't say anything. At this point, he would have just attacked but he was weak. Weak and pathetic.

" _Stand up, Shimura Tenko. You're pathetic."_ , Sensei's harsh words found their way into his conscious, but he pushed them away.

"I will see you soon. Until then, try to behave.", All Might dismissed him, left the cell and for the next minutes after that, Tomura tried to dig his nails into the skin of his scarred neck. It had hardly been fifteen minutes, yet All Might had already left him! Wasn't it him who had arranged for these visits in the first place? And now he didn't even use the full hour he was given? What was the point of-

Then, it suddenly struck him and he felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. All Might literally wanted him to crave these visits. He wanted him to be addicted to them, opening up more and more to make him return. He probably didn't even care if Tomura got angry or if they got in a fight, as long as he could make Tomura wanting All Might to come back.

That wasn't going to work. Stupid, stupid All Might.

His eyes went back to the white plastic bag placed in between the four black square pillows had left as well. He reached forward and grabbed it, pulling it with him as he leaned back to the wall. When he looked inside, a pair of white socks came into vision. The villain took them and immediately threw them across the room. Shigaraki Tomura didn't wear fucking socks. On the bottom of the bag was something else, wrapped in thin recycled card board paper. He took it out and realized how slowly and careful his movements were. Because hunger plagued him and his vision was starting to get blurry, he decided to get some sleep after this but he really wanted to see what was inside. All Might had mentioned shoes. It did make sense, with the socks and all.

When he removed the cardboard paper, he was holding a pair of new red chucks in his hands. All Might had bought him brand new chucks, in his favourite colour no less. Like those he had usually worn for the past years. All Might had actually noticed his shoes. He had made a request for this item to be brought in.

Tomura felt his heart beating faster and he began to shake again.

Now that the turmoil was back, he wanted nothing more than pull at his hair, to bite his lip and scratch when there was nothing to scratch with. He took the cardboard paper and ripped it, cutting his purlicues with the sharp side of it, biting his lip so hard it immediately started to bleed and trying to shred his arms on the pillows. It didn't work and the soft healed skin on his arms stayed intact. But the emotions he had caged earlier on were lose, torturing him and he wanted nothing more than to calm them. Desperate for the emptiness that was his life to come back, he bit into his arms and it hurt. It hurt! It worked! But there they were, the guards holding his limbs and drugging him again.

Was this it? Was he supposed to live this way for the rest of his life?

 _Remember, Tenko, they can't break you. There's nothing to break._

He was tired, so tired. The ceiling was beautiful. A warm feeling radiating from his belly embraced him.

It was warm. Comfortable, yet he wanted nothing more than to cry.

 _Did you just call yourself 'Tenko'?_

 _Your name is not Shimura Tenko._

 _But I want to be Shimura Tenko, because they can't hurt him anymore._

The following was the last thing he could remember before falling asleep.

 _They can't break him. There's nothing to break, because Shimura Tenko is dead._

 _But I am Tomura and Tomura is still alive._


	4. Chapter IV

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER IV – OUT OF HIS ASHES**

 _Tomura was at the bar hideout he had started to spent so much time at. He was alone - who knew where Kurogiri was strolling around again - and stood behind the counter in front of all the strong alcoholic liquids. He had wanted to try something out, but had stopped in his tracks when he had noticed his reflection in the mirror._

 _Tomura remembered reading various explanations on why it was a tradition to put up a mirror behind the counter. The first one had been to make it look like there were more bottles, simply meaning more variety and more alcohol. 'More' was always equated with 'good' when it came to the simplistic nature of humans._

 _The second spoke about cowboys watching out for dangers and he didn't quite remember the last one, probably something about calming down aggressive customers but he wasn't sure._

 _He then smiled, thinking about all the crap he read upon for Sensei's various assignments. His master had always given a lot of weight to different subjects. Tomura had exceeded every single of his teacher's expectations, no matter the subject. He preferred math over languages and history and this preference was reflected in his choice of videogames as well._

 _When Tomura looked at himself, he couldn't help but cringe. The boy wasn't wearing Father, which didn't help dealing with his anxiety. He had turned fourteen not too long ago and had caught up in height, literally growing more than twenty inches for what felt like overnight. But the sudden increase in height had come with the cost of him becoming underweight, though Kurogiri had assured him, that he would gain back some pounds with coming years. He would later find out to be wrong. Tomura would never be a healthy young man, neither in body nor in mind._

 _He normally couldn't stand looking at himself for more than a few seconds, but he was caught in his thoughts._

 _Sensei had always been so patient with him, yet Tomura was not ready. He never seemed to_ be _ready for anything. Why exactly had All for One chosen_ him _?_

 _Why, why why!_

 _What was so special about him?_

 _Was it his quirk? No, All for One could have just taken that._

 _Maybe All for One had just seen his potential after taking him in: Tomura had been so eager to learn, curious like a cat, hungry for all knowledge._

 _But according to Sensei, he had slacked off._

 _It had frustrated Tomura to hear these words, although he knew they were true._ _He was only letting his master down._

 _A long time ago, there had been nothing but kindness between the two. Now, All for One seemed constantly disappointed and angry with him. It was okay though, because like his father, his master was older and therefore wiser. All for One didn't punish him like his father used to, but even if he chose to, Tomura would take the lesson gladly. He kept telling himself, that when father had hurt him, it had been to protect him. It had been, because his father had loved him. And that if Sensei would punish him, it would be for those very same reasons._

 _Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew that there was something wrong with him for thinking that way, but he shut it down by remembering the coldness of the streets, when no one had helped him. Negative attention was better than no attention._

 _However All for One never hurt him, even when he was disappointed. Tomura's thoughts wandered to the older man._

 _If the teenager had to describe his master with three words, he would have chosen 'strong', 'intelligent' and 'leading', words who didn't fit_ him _at all. He didn't quite understand what society viewed as beautiful or ugly, but he knew that All for One would have counted as handsome. Tomura, however? He doubted it. His skin was dry and patchy and his face laced with two prominent scars. He was sickly pale, his hair was the colour of old and bland, his scarlet red eyes the only beautiful looking, distinguishable feature._

 _Where was Father? He wanted to hide his disgusting face._

 _The kid looked down at his hands and he slowly put them around his neck, pinkie fingers raised. It was something he had been wondering for so long; was his quirk going to work on him? Would he really die if he just put his last fingers down?_

 _The pressure cutting of the air felt good, almost as good as when Father covered his face. His heartbeat quickened._

 _Tomura had always thought that he wanted to die, but when it came to it, he could never go through with it – another thing that frustrated him, one in so many._

Just do it, for fucks sake! _, he screamed at himself in his mind._

"Pathetic! You're not my son!" _, he remembered a big, big hand, so much bigger than his own, slapping him hard._

 _Tomura wanted to cry._

For once in your miserable life, just do something right! _, it wouldn't kill him, he was convinced. But Tomura couldn't do it._

 _He let his hands fall back at his sides._

 _Angry. Dissapointed. Frustrated. Depressed._

 _Then he punched the mirror._

 _The shining shards drilled into his knuckles and dozens of bottles came flying to shatter on the wooden floor. A disgusting smell of different alcoholics mixed together, filled the room and Tomura's breathed hard. The teenager stared at the mess he had made and when he gazed back into the mirror, tears glittered in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, pulled up his black hoodie and left._ _Kurogiri would be mad, but he didn't care._

* * *

 _Many hours later, Tomura sat in his room._

 _He was just about to annex the newly, conquered federal city state, when someone knocked at the door. He ignored it and checked the number of rounds he had played, as well as the current status of gold. He wasn't really doing too well._

 _All for One's protégé had been at this game for a few hours now and he was getting closer to the modern epoch, where he should be able to use his main city's trump card to half all the military costs. Right now, all the other states were furious about his warmongering and would gear up and prepare themselves to be attacked. He wasn't planning on doing it now though; his Gatling guns were costly and couldn't travel more than two fields per round because he had completely neglected building roads in his territory. If he could only build some WWI bombers already-_

 _The someone at the other side of the door knocked again._

" _What!", he snapped, not turning to look at who opened it._

" _Shigaraki Tomura.", it was Kurogiri's voice he was hearing, "Sensei wishes to see you."_

 _Annoyed, Tomura paused the game and turned to look at the dark nebula standing in the doorframe._

" _Why?"_

 _It was hard to read Kurogiri, but Tomura thought that right now, he didn't look too amused._

" _Do not let Sensei wait.", the fog-man wearing a suit dodged Tomura's question._

" _Wha-wait!", Tomura called but Kurogiri had already closed the door again._

Stupid, stupid Kurogiri!

 _Tomura quick-saved the game and bent down to get the red chucks underneath his desk, then bumped his head at the hard wood of the table when sitting up. He cursed, rubbed his head and put on his shoes._

 _The teenager then passed the mirror in his room while walking towards the door and noticed that his shirt was full of chip crumbs. He quickly patted them away. Sensei didn't mind his unkempt hair or the dry patches of his skin, but he didn't like food particles and Tomura briefly wondered, if he had ever seen All for One eat. He couldn't say for sure._

 _He stepped through the door and entered the big office, where All for One usually did his work whenever he came to this apartment, which wasn't often these days. The room was clean and well-lit, unlike Tomura's room which was a mess of toys, books and plastic bags full of soda cans and food containers. Not that Tomura preferred cluttered dark places over clean and tidy ones, but his room was kind of a sanctuary and he wasn't excited about the thought of someone cleaning and touching all his stuff. And he sure as hell wasn't going to do it himself._

 _All for One sat in that big expensive office chair, elbows on the table and hands folded while he stared at Tomura._

" _Sensei.", he gave some warmth into the greeting, hoping to see his master smile at him._

" _Tomura.", his master greeted him back, cold and uncaring. Tomura dropped his gaze in frustration._

" _What happened to your hand?"_

 _The boy looked down at it, his knuckles a mix of red and yellow._

" _It's infected, we will have to clean it.", Kurogiri said._

" _You called for me?", Tomura ignored the question and Kurogiri's comment and his master nodded._

" _It's time to put your quirk to good use."_

 _The boy then started to scratch his neck, confused on what was about to come._

" _You look tired."_

 _Tomura glanced at the clock hanging in the office and his eyes widened. It was eleven o'clock in the morning, he had been back from the bar the day before at around five pm!_

" _I'm sorry, Sensei.", he sincerely apologized._

" _I don't care for any of your apologies. Go to sleep. I will call for you.", All for One said and waved him away. Tomura wanted to defend himself but knew better and left the office without a word._

 _Back in his room, he threw himself face-forward onto the bed, unchanged with his shoes on and his wound still dirty. When he couldn't hold his air any longer, he turned onto his back and stared at the ceiling while scratching his neck. Sleep caught him soon and sooner that he would have liked, Kurogiri was waking him up again._

 _After the third time of Kurogiri calling his name, Tomura lost it and turned to face the nebula, his eyes bloodshot and deadly._

" _Fuck off already!", he screamed and turned his back to the man standing in his doorframe._

" _Sensei doesn't like to wait, Shigaraki Tomura. Do not disappoint him.", Kurogiri said, his voice always calm yet confident, closing the door. Those words reached the kid and he stood up, his legs weak and a headache plaguing him. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a sip of water, but there was no time now. He left his room in the same clothes he had been wearing for three days straight now and jogged to his master's office. The door was closed and from outside, Tomura could hear various voices._

 _So he wouldn't be alone._

 _Why was he here again? Ah yes, Sensei wanted to "to put his quirk to good use", whatever that meant._

 _Tomura entered, and all eyes including Sensei's, shot to him and the room went abruptly silent. The small office was filled with All for One's lackeys, members of "The Union"; people who would help him on his way of becoming the greatest of all villains and the heir to his master's throne._

" _Welcome, Shigaraki Tomura.", Sensei spoke to him with his surname first, something he always did in front of others._

 _"What is going on here?", the boy asked and his hand shot up to his neck and scratched_ hard _._

 _Before he received and answer, someone opened the door behind him and when Tomura turned around to look at the intruder, he saw two guys holding a tied up figure, struggling hopelessly to get free._

" _Who is he?", he demanded to know, looking at his master and then back to the man who was fighting in vain._

" _Does it matter? I want you to let him disappear, Shigaraki Tomura."_

" _What?", was all Tomura could say, although he had perfectly understood. All for One wanted him to do to the man what he had done to his father. He wanted Tomura, a fourteen year old boy, to turn another man he had never met, into dust._

"It's time to put your quirk to good use."

" _Do it."_

 _Tomura cleared his throat and nodded. He slowly stepped in front of the whining man, who had suddenly stopped struggling, like accepting that there was no escape out of this. Tomura reached for the man's shoulder, his own hand shaking. Images of his father crumbling to pieces in front of him shot through his mind. His father's blood in his hair, on his arms, his clothes and on those tiny hands._

 _Some part in him screamed, telling him stop. It was Tenko, cute little Tenko with no shoes on and with fresh wounds on his upper lip and over his right eye. Tenko, the embodiement of his innocence and weakness._

 _He needed to get rid of Tenko so that he could fully embrace the identity All for One had given him. Maybe, if he could finally get rid of what was holding him back, Sensei would like him again._

" _What are you waiting for?"_

" _Nothing.", Tomura said and with new motivation fuelling him, he grabbed the man's shoulder._

 _Tenko may have died that day, but out of his ashes, Tomura had arisen._

* * *

Tomura opened his eyes, the man's agonizing screams still echoing in his ears. It had been the first man he had _willingly_ killed. He had vomited his guts out after that, but Sensei's affection had returned and it was all Tomura had ever wanted.

He remembered the months after that event: His master bringing him one guy after the other, all kinds of different human beings he could lay his hands on. It got easier with time and soon Tomura stopped counting. Out of some of the victims, he had made his costume: Hands holding him where his father used to grab him, giving him warmth and punishment at the same time. One hand grabbing his hair, three holding each of his arms and shoulders, two big ones on his rips and the last of his victims he had given the honour to hold him around the neck. It had been around that time that All Might had beaten his master and ruined his face, so that he had to be connected to a machine to survive.

Tomura still didn't feel any remorse for killing those people. Whatever he had done, he had done for affection and survival. Sensei only kept the strong; the weak, he got rid of. There was nothing to get rid off with Tomura, he had gotten rid of the weak part in him by himself.

 _I am not weak._

 _I am not weak._

 _Then why do you wish to be Tenko again?_ , his own voice asked him in his mind.

 _Shut up._ , he didn't want to be Tenko.

Still, he wondered why this memory came back to him at a time like this? He hadn't thought about it for years and now could see everything so vividly whenever he closed his eyes.

The drugs' effect was fading and Tomura felt like slowly awakening from a coma. He moved from the mattress, touching the cold floor with his fingertips first.

How long had it been since he had last used his quirk? Did he miss it? Wasn't it so much easier to live without a destructive quirk as his?

He had to admit, that with every person he had killed, a part of his sanity had died with them. And now the last of it was starting to fade more and more with every day he had to spend here in this cell.

Tomura looked down at his feet, red chucks covering them. He smiled.

 _Don't be happy about it, idiot._

All Might had given him these and thrown him into a panic attack with it, he shouldn't have been thankful! All Might was the enemy.

 _Enemy._

 _Enemy._

 _Enemy._

 _He didn't save you._

 _None of them saved you._

 _They didn't want you._

 _You're nothing to them._

Still, it wouldn't hurt him to keep the shoes on. The floor was cold after all.

 _Nobody wants you._

 _You're alone._

 _I want to die._

The door then opened and as expected, All Might stepped in. Tomura couldn't help but grin at the man he wanted to kill.

 _Show him how insane you are and he'll blame himself!_

 _Hurt him in every way possible!_

 _There's only Sensei and yourself._

 _..._

 _..._

 _Who are you kidding? You're not strong. They're already breaking you. You will rot in here._


	5. Chapter V

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER V – IT'S TOO LATE**

It was a chilly Friday morning when All Might went back to Tartarus. The sky was dark, covered by the greyest of clouds he had ever seen. Blue sky and orange sunsets were no more; late October really had that ugly autumn feeling to it and if he didn't know any better, he'd thought the world was about to end. It poured buckets of rain and the high security prison looked more frightening than usual.

Since Tsukauchi couldn't act as All Might's driver all the time (he had another job after all), the hero had rented a car and was currently driving there by himself.

He wasn't feeling that good, not being able to properly sleep made him grumpy and he had lost all appetite. Additionally, this dark weather felt like an omen, a sign that he should turn around and drive back home.

On the road to the prison, he blinked a few times at the items on the seat next to him: Various sweets Midoriya had chosen as well as two books some nice lady at the local library had recommended to him.

Gifts for Tomura.

They were reassuring and gave All Might the strength to keep going.

When he parked the car and got out, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There were no guards standing in front of the entrance. Had something happened?

He opened his umbrella, moved to the other side of the car to get the items and walked to the entrance.

At the security check, the guards didn't even look him in the eyes, deliberately avoiding them. A nauseating feeling started to spread from his stomach - something was wrong. They also took away the gifts he had brought without even saying anything.

"The high court did assign me a notary regarding my requests for items to be brought in. Those were approved.", he said calmly and reached for the bag with the items, but was stopped.

"We know and we are sorry, All Might. One of the prisoners is causing us troubles and until we are sure that everything is one hundred percent safe, we will not allow any unusual items to be brought down to the lower levels.", the tallest of them explained and fidgeted with his arms at All Might to move through the body scanner.

"Is it All for One?", he asked and passed through.

"I am not authorized to share this information with you.", the guard answered and gave him back his belt and shoes, "Please continue with your task."

He was clearly signalizing All Might that he wasn't going to give him any more answers, but the symbol of peace was done anyway. He strolled to the elevators and descended to the lower floors, where he saw a new guard standing in front of Shigaraki Tomura's cell. The man was younger then the last guard and probably not much older than Tomura. He looked scared.

When All Might approached him, he immediately changed his posture and the expression of his face went from frightened to happy. The young man greeted him first.

"Welcome, All Might!", he said and smiled with the brightest grins, just like Midoriya.

"Thank you. Shall we go to the rules right away?", All Might asked and looked along the irony cold floors while the young man explained the rules to him, rules he was hearing for the fourth time now. When he was done, All Might stepped in front of the cell door and looked through the bulletproof little window: Tomura was sitting on the cold floor instead of his mattress, his back bucked as always and the hands loosely folded, pointing fingers always looking up. His pale skin had gotten a greyish undertone in the three days since All Might had last seen him and he could see the blue veins from where he was standing. Those red eyes only an ember instead of a burning fire.

"Is he on drugs?", All Might turned back to the guard, but the man shook his head.

"He should be sober by now."

"What do you mean? So you _did_ drug him?", he followed up. Why? What had he done this time? Frustration rose inside All Might, that kid really was a lost case.

 _Don't say that._ , he scolded himself.

"We did to stop him from hurting himself. Surprisingly, he never even struggled when we intervened."

All Might didn't know what to say to that. The guard stepped forwards and peaked into the cell.

"I am no expert but it looks almost as if he has given up.", he said, more a question than a fact. All Might didn't like where this was going.

"Are you saying that he's starting to..?"

The young man shrugged: "Like I said, I am no expert, but I've seen a few people in isolated imprisonment acting the same way after some time. I guess someone who's had no boundaries or limits before can't really handle being chained."

That was enough, All Might needed to speak to him.

When he entered, Tomura looked up and greeted him with one of his signature creepy smiles. His wrinkly eyes looked tired and there were some bandages covering a few spots on his arms.

"Why did you do that?", he immediately got to the topic. Tomura's mimic changed into one of a confused kid and he suddenly looked so much younger and more vulnerable.

"What..?"

"Why did you hurt yourself again? We had an agreement. This way you'll never get Father back.", All Might explained.

Tomura looked at the ground.

The hero sighed heavily and sat down right in front of the leader of the League. He usually kept his distance for obvious safety reasons, but there was nothing Tomura could do to him in this weakened state.

"I think I'm just frustrated because I thought this would all go easier – I should have known better. None of this is ever easy, but I still had hope. I want to help you, we all want to, but I can see your side as well: You have no reason to trust us. I am trying to change that, we will not hurt you, Tomura.", All Might babbled and Tomura seemed to listen but didn't comment on anything. If the kid wasn't going to speak with him, All Might would just talk and make him listen. At least that way he could see that there was no point in hating the hero: He was just a normal guy after all.

"Sleep didn't come easy these past weeks. I spent nights awake, just thinking about what I could have done better to protect my master's grandson. I have obviously failed in every way possible. She wanted to shield you from world she was part of, from villains and heroes alike. I always assumed All for One gave you an alias because he didn't like the Shimura name. "

No reaction.

"I thought I had seen through you; that you would at least _try_ to get along with me, so that you could figure how to break out. "

Tomura snorted.

"So I wasn't completely wrong for thinking that?", All Might asked and added a smile, even if Tomura wasn't looking at him. Every reaction he got was a step closer to his goal.

"Well, you're going to have to try a little harder than that.", the hero said jokingly. Tomura combed his grey bangs in front of his face, hiding from him and the cameras.

 _Don't lose his attention now!_

"I wanted to bring you sweets and books, but there was an interference and it'll have to wait. One of the students chos-", he told him but was cut off.

"Interference, huh? You're talking about Sensei."

All Might bit his lip. He shouldn't have mentioned that.

"That's..not it.", he said but Tomura snorted again.

"You're a liar, All Might.", he said and looked up, his voice suddenly venomous again, "A wretched, little lying hero."

"No, list-"

"Shut your fucking mouth. I don't want your gifts! I want you to hate me! I want you to fear me! I _despise_ you, All Might!", Tomura suddenly raised his voice and retreated back to the wall. Every movement he made was weak and careful.

All Might just waited for the warning of the guards to echo through the speakers, but then remembered that they couldn't hear them and Tomura's empty eyes didn't tell them anything.

Every time the young man threw these kinds of words at him, it felt like knives piercing his heart.

 _Do. Not. Give. Up._

All Might thought about pointing out that Tomura did wear the shoes he had brought him, so he didn't seem to mind gifts. Provoking him had not gone well on his first visit, but it was a promising way on getting Tomura to react. He wouldn't ask him about the shoes, though.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

Tomura grinned.

 _This is meaningless. He'll never change._ , his brain speaking against his heart.

 _He is Nana's grandchild. You have to save him._ , his heart defending its position.

"After all this time, you still don't know?", he asked, mocking All Might and then falling into a laugh that was the embodied sound of insanity.

" **You** think you hate me, because to you I am the symbol of the ideals you and your comrades fight against, some for the greater goal of a more just society, some for the simple wish of just feeling good and living an easier life."

 _He is a **criminal** and this is his punishment. How many other criminals are there more deserving of your visits than him? How many criminals, who have committed less vile crimes and ended up in prison anyway, who didn't chose to become Japan's most wanted villain? Why him?_

" **I** think that you hate me because I couldn't save you from your fall."

 _You have to try. For Nana!_

Tomura bared his teeth, his eyes now a burning fire awoken from his sleep. From one second to the next, he turned from a fragile, almost comatose person into a dangerous beast.

"Watch your words now."

"Be honest with yourself. It was All for One who taught you about the supposedly wrong ideals of society."

"And how the fuck would you know that?!"

"Shigaraki.", the guards warning came but the prisoner ignored it, too agitated to calm himself down.

"I don't, you tell me. And I want the truth, Tomura. Tell me that every crime you have ever committed was out of your own will, that everything you did was always justified, and I will leave this cell to never come back."

Tomura eyes widened and all the aggression disappeared from his face. It hurt All Might to see that the kid was suddenly very compliant when it came to him being left alone, but it didn't surprise him one bit.

"I will even let them bring Father back, just so you know that I am serious. So tell me the truth."

"I did.", he didn't hesitate and put on that creepy smile again, "I killed my father and then I murdered my old self, Shimura Tenko. All of that I did willingly. There's nothing for you here. There's nothing to _save_!"

 _This one I won._ , All Might smiled to himself.

"You're a liar, _Tenko_."

All of the colour in Shigaraki's face left him upon realizing what he just had done, only his scarlet eyes back to burning with fury.

"We had an agreement that I would get to call you by your first name. You didn't tell it to me until just now. Why would I believe anything you say?"

Tomura couldn't answer before a horde of guards stormed the cell, some of them grabbing him while others pointed a weapon at his face. The villain didn't struggle, but his eyes told All Might all about what he was thinking right now and none of it was pretty.

"FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME, MAN TO MAN! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!", he screamed like on All Might's first visit, but the hero could see the progress he had made since then. Yes, it was still mostly threats, but Tomura did answer his questions and it was his own fault for provoking the villain. Tomura quickly resorted to violence whenever his know-it-all attitude didn't work anymore.

"You should leave, All Might.", the young guard from before asked him and the symbol of peace nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Tenko. Try to behave this time.", he told him goodbye and left the cell, followed by the young villain's shouting.

"FUCK YOU, ALL MIGHT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

* * *

The following Tuesday, when All Might returned, everything regarding the problems which probably had concerned All for One, had vanished into thin air. He didn't make an inquiry, aware that the guards wouldn't tell him anything, and went straight to the lower floors, the bag with the gifts of the last Friday in his hand. As usual, the guard told him about the rules again and how Tomura had acted during those past days.

"He was very compliant and ate his dinner for a change. That is, until today. We had to drug him because he started pulling his hair. It should be wearing off by now."

All Might's excitement to see Tomura again, was pushed aside by a nauseating feeling of concern.

"This must have to do with me. He has probably realized the schedule on when I'm here."

"Do you really think so, All Might?", the guard asked and frowned, "He shouldn't be able to tell when a day has passed. We are very careful of that. Even his dinner times are random and sometimes, he gets multiple a day."

"He's exceptionally perceptive when he wants to.", All Might said and prepared to enter the cell. Inside, Tomura was lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, whispering some words to himself.

All Might swallowed and kneeled down to the villain. His face was exposed, something he probably wouldn't have liked and he stopped talking as soon as he caught vision of All Might.

"Leave me.", he said and closed his eyes.

"You know that this isn't going to work. I want to help you.", All Might said calmly and sat down right next to him. He reached for Tomura's hands lying on his chest and startled at how cold they were.

"Don't fucking touch me."

"I brought you gifts. The sweets and books I talked about. And a comb.", he showed all the items one after one to Tomura, but the kid either closed his eyes or tried to look into a different direction.

"There's nothing I can give you. Just leave me..to die."

All Might didn't know anything about the drugs he was given. His mind was clear as far as he could tell but he seemed unable to move.

"I don't want you to die. I want you to live and to see this world from another perspective."

The symbol of peace took the comb and carefully started to unknot the grey mess. Tomura's hair was clean, but whoever washed it, didn't bother for more treatment. All Might also noticed that the younger man's fingernails had been cut again as well. With all this cutting, they seemed to be getting shorter – like those of a nailbiter. Not very pretty to look at, but at least safe.

While he worked through all the knots, he couldn't help but smile. Caring for a villain's hair, no matter how young he was, would get people talking. What would Midoriya think if he knew? What about the other students? What would the public think?

This was one thing he just did for himself.

Tomura hadn't spoken another word, so All Might decided on just talking about what came to mind.

"Those sweets were chosen by one of my students.", was his first lousy attempt. What was Tomura supposed to say to that?

Surprisingly though, he did comment on it: "Midoriya Izuku."

He looked away like saying it, not expecting an answer since he knew that All Might wasn't allowed to tell him.

Ten minutes passed and All Might was done with the hair and passed his right hand through it. It was soft and wavy and nothing like Nana's black straight mane.

" _My grandson. The child of my child."_ , a familiar voice vibrated through All Might's whole body.

 _Nana?_ , he asked but no answer came. Had he just imagined it? Or had Shimura Nana just truly spoken to him via One for All?

Suddenly, something grabbed him.

Four long slender fingers were closed around his wrist while his hand was still resting on Tomura's scalp. Red burning eyes stared at All Might, but there was no anger in them. Whatever Tomura was radiating was unreadable to him.

"Shigaraki, let him go immediately.", the guards voice spoke but Tomura didn't seem to hear it, his eyes holding All Might as was his hand.

"Tenko. Let go.", All Might tried as well but unlike the guards' order, his voice was calm and asking. It showed impact because Tomura's eyes widened and quickly closed again, his face features pulled into something that looked like he was in pain. Then he slowly let go of the bony wrist and All Might distanced himself from the prisoner, while Tomura slowly sat up and pulled his hair in front of his face.

No one entered the cell and All Might let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You didn't kill me.", the symbol of peace stated bluntly.

"If you haven't noticed, two of my fingers are bound. I can't exactly use my quirk, hero.", Tomura bawled and grit his teeth.

"You're still lying to me, Tenko.", All Might said and smiled at the young man who furrowed his brows. Whenever All Might got a glimpse of Tomura's true emotions, his heart jumped in joy and it felt like the kid's most innocent and truest self had just brushed him.

"Those gauntlets don't work on your mind. You still raise your fingers whenever you don't intend on disintegrat-"

"So what?!", Tomura raised his voice again and clenched his hands in fists, like just mentioned still raising one finger on each hand, this time his thumbs, "You think that because I subconsciously decided not to kill you this time, that I'm changed now? That you've somehow redeemed me? That I can live a normal fucking life?!"

There was no denying of the despair in his shouting and how it made him look like a boy crying for help and All Might wanted nothing more than to take those cursed, killing hands into his and just hold them until all was good and well and.. he almost did. Almost, because Tomura seemed to realize how much he had opened himself and how small he looked, so that he built back his giant, invisible brick wall straightaway and hid his face behind the grey curtain.

"I don't want to change you, Tenko. I just want you to be healthy and happy.", All Might tried to explain to him for what felt like the twentieth time.

 _Patience is a virtue and the mother of all success._

Those words did something.

Tomura looked up and his scarlet eyes peaked between the strains of his hair. A spark of hope glittered in them but as quick as it had appeared, it vanished and the villain dug his cut nails into the scarred skin of his neck.

"No..no..you want to break me. You all want me to become.. some mindless slave!", his breath quickened and he scratched his neck furiously. There was no way the guards would not intervene this time but surprisingly, All Might found himself waiting, because the door remained closed. All the while, the prisoner was having a panic attack.

"My kind will never be able to live.. without being persecuted.", he murmured to himself and scratched scratched scrachted..

All Might couldn't take it anymore.

He slowly stood up and walked towards the self-harming prisoner whom didn't notice anyone approaching, too deep in his own thoughts, trying to remember All for One's teaching and that there was no place for him in this world. Tomura babbled so much stuff to himself that All Might immediately thought of Nana's words:

 _"When you have to save someone, they're usually in a scary situation. A true hero saves not only their lives, but also their spirits... That's what I believe. So no matter how scary things get, give 'em a smile, as if to say, "I'm a-ok". The people in this world who can smile are always the strongest."_

All of the previous' number one hero's doubts and scruples washed away, when he closed his arms around a shaking, thin figure.

 _"I am sure he's just afraid! I would be too if I was in Tartarus."_ , Midoriya's words.

Tomura _was_ afraid, but not of Tartarus. He was afraid of learning that all he had been taught his whole life was a lie, that there really was a society that accepted him as he was, behind the horizon. Right now he only saw a glimpse of it, but it was enough to shake his very being.

Shigaraki Tomura felt cold in All Might's embrace but the hero didn't let go and minutes passed with the villain just murmuring and shaking while the hero listened and held him. Tomura asked his master to help him out of here and that he would be useful to him again, then proceeded to curse about the hero society and ended with pleading to someone not to hurt him.

When he stopped murmuring and shaking, he pushed away the taller figure embracing him and pulled his knees up to his body.

"Are you-"

"Don't.", he said, no anger, just emptiness, and All Might understood that this was a dead end and that all the prisoner needed right now was time by himself.

At the exit, All Might turned around a last time, catching Tomura wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Tenko.", he tried again but the young man's next words hit him hard.

"It's too late."

All Might left. He should have felt victorious about the progress he had made today.

 _Like a bone that had healed the wrong way, he needed to break him again so that the kid could let go and heal properly._

He hadn't imagined being it this hard to watch.

* * *

 **Answer to sonic:** Thank you thank you thank you endlessly! : )


	6. Chapter VI

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER VI – AN OUTCAST**

This room was monitored by multiple cameras with guards watching him. They were always watching and guarding _him_.

"It's been quite some time since you've come to visit me, All Might.", even all chained up, with multiple weapons pointed at him, enclosed between the strongest, thickest walls to be created by mankind, All for One's voice still sounded sublime and powerful. His lips were pulled in a dreadful smile, which All Might knew never meant something good. All for One should have long received the death penalty, but this was an area not even the former number one had any influence on.

"There must be a reason. I can't wait for you to tell me.", the villain added.

"I'm here to talk about the League of Villains.", All Might stated and made sure to always look into the prisoners deformed face, he himself had destroyed. It could have been over back then, but his rival had survived.

 _Don't show any kind of intimidation. You've prepared yourself for this, there's nothing he can do to you, or anyone else anymore._ , All Might repeated to himself, just like on the drive here.

"Really?", he sounded so smug saying that, "About the League? Or about my apprentice?"

All Might kept a straight face.

"You cannot make a fool out of me, All Might. I chose the grandson of the seventh wielder for a reason: To hit you where it hurts. I knew you'd care about him. That's why you're here and that's why everything is still going according to how I've planned it.", All for One proudly told him and All Might just shook his head.

"Nothing is going the way you've foreseen it. But keep assuming, there's not anything else for you to do in here anyway.", All Might couldn't even imagine being strapped to a chair all day long, but the punishment was still too good for someone like All for One, someone who had done all these horrendous things for longer than a human was supposed to live.

"Oh-ho! That snippiness doesn't suit you, All Might! So then I take that my young apprentice is not imprisoned right now?", he asked but received no answer from the hero. Whatever All Might would say to this, it could give away some sort of information All for One wasn't allowed to have.

"You don't have to answer me. I've lived long enough to be able to know when someone wants something, without them actually saying it. There is a question burning under your nails; something you want know so bad it tickles under your skin. You wouldn't have come here after all this time for any other reason."

If Tomura didn't have it in his genes, it was clear now that he'd gotten that perceptiveness of his from his teacher. All for One had gotten everything right until now and All Might was losing his cool.

 _You can't properly prepare for this._

 _Focus now, no mistakes._

"Come on, symbol of peace. Don't let an old man like me wait. Why are you here?"

"What have you done to Tom-.. Shigaraki?", All Might bit his tongue, no way All for One hadn't caught that slip-up.

All Might smirked satisfied, but did not comment on it: "Ah, it was a joy seeing him grow up. Such an innocent boy, always blaming himself – he truly became a twisted man, wouldn't you agree, All Might?"

The symbol of peace couldn't keep that straight face anymore. His eyebrows pulled down, his pupils contracted and he bared his teeth but that didn't intimidate the former kingpin of the underground, quite the contrary: It just made All for One wanting get more under his enemy's skin. But All Might knew all of this already, why was he letting this guy provoke him?

"You haven't answered my question.", he asked after forcing himself to calm down.

"I've never done anything to my dear little Tomura."

"Then we're done here.", All Might said, turned around and stood up. This would surely get him what he wanted; All for One _did_ like to hear himself talk.

"Oh no, no, no! Don't go just yet, I can think of something that might be of interest to you.", All for One suddenly begged as All Might had predicted. The man known as the symbol of peace may have not been able to fight anymore, but he still had his skills and he knew that All for One liked to hurt him. Whatever he was going to hear would not be pretty, but it would help him in getting to know Tomura better.

"Get to the point. I have no other reason to stay here.", All Might crossed his arms.

"Well, I don't really know what you want me to say. I have always been good to Tomura.", he started, "Sometimes, I starved him of affection for so long, he would use his quirk until complete exhaustion just to get my attention. He would vent a lot by training himself and his quirk, until he passed out, just to wake up with me waiting at his side and patting his head." All for One sounded as if he was just speaking about the weather and not about manipulating a child.  
"Isn't it ironic? I taught everything to _him_ , so that he could become _my_ heir. And he would do everything for _me_ , so that _he_ could feel better. Everything we exchanged seemed simply symbiotic. But he's surpassed all of my expectations: He's not only my heir anymore, no, he's the next Me.", that dreadful smirk never left All for One's lips when he spoke and All Might felt already sick and angry again just hearing that.

"Why would you care about him wanting your attention? You could have just taught him without bringing in human emotions. Why care about that?", he did genuinely want to know what the man thought of his own apprentice.

"Isn't it obvious? I made him dependent. He couldn't help but obey my every command, fulfil my every wish. He killed dozens, no, hundreds for me, All Might!", while he said that, his speech turned into an almost stereotypical evil laughter.

All Might had trouble holding himself together. He just wanted to break that bulletproof glass separating the two and do what he never wished to do to anyone: take the man out of this world for good. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible, not even because All Might didn't have the strength to break anything remotely that strong anymore, but because All for One's fate didn't lie in his hands.

So he settled on cursing him instead: "You should burn in hell for what you've done, bastard."

"Don't be like that, All Might! I'm not as heartless as you think. I've become quite fond of my apprentice: I _do_ care about his well-being. That day at Kamino, when you beat me, was the best thing to ever happen to him; he became independent again, because his teacher went to a place he couldn't reach." That day at Kamino had also been the day that All Might had learned about Tomura's ancestry. Everything could have gone so different if All for One had never told him that. Or if Tomura wasn't Nana's grandchild to begin with.

 _Would I care about him then?_

 _"It is not me who only cares about your name, it's All for One."_ , he had told that to Tomura. And he believed it true, but his mind seemed to like to challenge his own beliefs.

"Had I wanted, I could have easily abused him, like Shimura did, that useless spawn of your master. Tomura would have taken it all like the little pet he was. He still loves his father, even after all that suffering.", All for One continued and he looked especially satisfied, when All Might began to shake with fury. How he managed to actually "see" people without eyes was beyond the hero's comprehension.

The way Tomura was attached to the hand he put over his face, affectionately calling it "Father", had always given away that he must have had an unusual and unhealthy relationship with his parent.  
So Nana's son really did abuse his own child. Why? Had the fact, that Nana's had given him away, caused such harm, even a mental damage? Thinking about Tomura, no, little Tenko Shimura, getting abused––

 _Don't._

This was a line, he was not willing to cross yet. Not with All for One at least – he wanted Tomura to speak to him about it. If he never did, that was fine too. Those were a young man's painful memories: They only belonged to him and it was his choice, to do with them as he wanted. All Might would be the last to force him.

"We're done here."

"Please, All Might! Isn't there anything else you want to know? I could talk about how he started to enjoy killing. Or about those many times he tried to use his quirk on himself, trying to get free from my chains."

All Might felt as if he'd just been shot.

"Explain yourself!", he shouted and felt his heartbeat speed up and his anger skyrocketing.

"Once you're part of our world, there's no going back. Who outside of the underground would ever accept _him_? Him, who had already murdered dozens of people at the tender age of fifteen? Even before that, no one would have ever wanted a child with such a destructive quirk. Don't you think he didn't know that? His only way out of my grasp was death." The words spoken aloud sounded like thunder in All Might's ears.

"You're wrong. He just needed a hand. His quirk would have been so helpful in many situations! He could have been a hero!", All Might argued against the man, but then remembered Nana who wanted to shield her family from villains and heroes alike. Still, she would have preferred her grandson becoming a hero over a villain anytime!

"Yes, maybe when your society needed it. Don't lie to me, you know he always would have been an outcast."

All Might didn't know what to say to that, because he could easily imagine it being true.

 _"I killed my father and then I murdered my old self, Shimura Tenko."_ , the world as it was didn't hold a place for a child who murdered his father, even if it had been by accident. Had it been by accident? It must have been. Why else would Tomura still cling to his father's hand?

"He never went through with it and by the time he would have had the courage, he was already too addicted by his own dependence to me. Then I got put in here and him having to think for himself, was the catalyst for a completely new hate for you and society. Isn't that true, All Might? He must have hurt you all badly."

"All Might, it's time.", a voice sounded through the speakers and without saying another word, the hero stood up and walked towards the exit in fast paces. Unlike his visits with Tomura, he was glad to get out of here.

"You think you have him where you want him to be. But Tomura will never change. Everything is going as I've foreseen!", All for One called towards All Might. He didn't look back once.

* * *

All Might exited Tartarus just to get some fresh air. He was already feeling exhausted and he needed to calm his heart before getting into Tomura's cell. Otherwise, the kid would immediately notice that something was up.

 _But why shouldn't he know that you've just visited his master? Beside the point that isn't allowed to know._

 _They can't hear in on you._

Then it was decided. He would break the rules and speak to Tomura about his visit with All for One today. But first, he needed to get through the whole entrance process all over again.

Back on the lower floors, the young guard from the last Tuesday greeted him when he arrived at the block where Tomura's cell was: "Hello All Might, welcome back!"

Next to the guard stood a woman, All Might estimated that she must have been around his age. She had her dark brown hair up in a tight bun, her blue eyes looked at him through some old fashioned round glasses and she wore a white lab coat. In her arm, she held a clipboard holding some sheets.

"I thought of it as a rumour but here you are! It's nice to meet you, All Might.", the woman bowed and introduced herself as one of Tomura's doctors. Apparently, she was responsible for the prisoner's physical health.

"It's good to meet you too. Tell me, doctor, how is he doing?", he asked and noticed the worry in his own voice. He was still shaken about what All for One had told him.

 _Pull yourself together, Toshinori._

"Am I allowed to share my notes with All Might?", the woman turned to the guard. He shrugged and asked a question in return: "I don't see why not, but as a doctor, aren't you bound by an oath?"

"There's nothing Shigaraki can really do about it, can he?", she said. Then she turned to face All Might again.

"I have been informed that Shigaraki has been eating all of his meals these past days. This is really important, since he quickly needs to regain some strength. If he doesn't, there may be some long-term effects because of nutritional deficiency.", she started and waited for some comment.

"I see.", was all the hero could add.

"Whenever I visit him, we just do routine things like checking lungs, heart, eyes, etcetera.", she then continued and went through her sheets while talking, "He never talks but groans whenever I want to see the scars around his neck and arms but today, he was.. different. For the first time, I was able to take care of his wounds while he was still sober."

"That's good, isn't it?", All Might looked at the guard and the doctor when he asked and they both nodded reassuringly.

"Yes, I think so too.", the doctor confirmed, "It looks as if he's getting to terms with the situation he's in. I bet the therapists will have more luck with him starting from now on."

That really was positive news for a change and All Might felt relieved, especially after that wearing last visit and those horrible information he'd gotten. The guard then, as always, told him about the rules and while he did, All Might watched the doctor add something to her notes. She was writing with one of those brightly coloured, bendable pencils. He didn't even know that those were still a thing, remembering them from when he was a child. They used to be part of every writing kit in kindergarten or first grade and he couldn't deny that the doctor looked kind of ridiculous while she was holding one of them. The pink, green and blue coloured item just had that big contrast with her white sterile lab coat and that clean hairstyle. The hero smiled.

"What's so funny?", she asked, looking up in just that moment.

 _Caught._

"Nothing, really. I just haven't seen one of those pencils in a while.", he explained and the doctors eyes wandered to the item she was holding in her right hand.

"That? Oh, you're right! We had quite the trouble finding them. They're not 'trendy' anymore these days.", she explained and seemed highly amused by the item as well.

"Why would you need to find exactly _those_ pencils?", All Might couldn't help but wonder.

It was the guard who answered his question: "As you are aware, items that could be used as weapons are not allowed into the cell. Medical items are usually an exception, but the doctors are still asked to look for safer alternatives. You can't really harm someone with a bendable pencil. Normal writing tools however, can be used to stab someone."

All Might frowned.

"Why would Tomura stab you?", another slip-up. All Might bit his tongue. What was wrong with him today?

"Tomura, hm?", the doctor repeated (unlike All for One, she of course chose to comment on it) with a raised eyebrow and then looked at the guard, who barely shrugged as to say 'What are you looking at me for?'.

She stored the pencil into one of the pockets of her coat and put the clipboard underneath her arm.

"All Might, whatever you're doing by visiting Shigaraki is showing effect: He is changing, albeit I cannot say, if that change is genuine. But even the people inside a high security prison talk and I already got wind of you getting.. closer to the prisoner."

All Might didn't know where she was getting at, but he wasn't just going to let himself get attacked by a person he just had met.

"I have my reasons. The high court is informed about all of my doing whenever I'm here. I therefore don't see, why I should be judged by you or anyone else.", he defended himself, rightfully and the doctor seemed to regret her words, or at least the way she had told him.

"All I'm trying to say is, that Shigaraki still is a very dangerous person. We are not going to risk our own lives by bringing in potential weapons into a cell, where he could easily overpower and kill us.", she explained and the young guard nodded.

"I understand.", he truly did, but this discussion had already gotten past that point, "But I still don't see how any of this has to do with me getting, as you say 'closer' to the boy?"

"I am not trying to be rude here, but you don't seem able to objectively evaluate the situation anymore. You literally just asked me, why Shigaraki would stab us, as if it wasn't obvious.", the doctor stated bluntly, rendering All Might speechless, "Also, you might be interested in knowing that Shigaraki is not a boy anymore; it is hard to determine a person's exact age, but judging by his wisdom teeth, he has already left his teenage years behind. I'm guessing he's in his early twenties."

"Just a way of saying. I remember my early twenties; still very naive and childlike at that age.", All Might had already assumed that Tomura was a few years older than Aizawa's and Vlad's students.

"All of the things he has done are evidence for the contrary. He's not a child anymore." Was this lady trying to pick a fight with him or why else was she engaging with him in this time wasting verbal duel?

 _She's right. Gran Torino is right too. They're all right. What am I trying to accomplish here?_ , a voice in his subconscious speaking again. He remembered his last visit, when he embraced a shaking Tomura, who had not been able to defend himself, not been able to push All Might away. All of the hero's doubts had vanished into thin air at that moment, yet they were back whenever someone confronted him about his beliefs in Tomura.

 _"There's no way I can morally justify what I'm doing."_ , his own words back in the police car with Tsukauchi and Gran Torino.

 _"A chance to save a child who has lost his way and bring him back to the light."_ , also his words in the same scene, only a few seconds later. His heart speaking.

He thought back to all those things All for One had said to him and came to the same conclusion: Tomura deserved a change. And All Might would be the one to give it him. He would guide him, he would save him.

"It was nice to meet you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a prisoner to visit.", he sealed the conversation and entered the cell.


	7. Chapter VII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER VII – I AM HERE**

The villain hospital was unexpectedly dull, darker than hospitals All Might had seen, but still sterile, quiet and really nothing out of the norm. Most of its patients didn't stay long enough to get such a good look at it as he did. As soon as they felt well again, they were put (back) into prison. Tomura was not going to be an exception.

He was asleep, two gunshot wounds healing beneath the bandages, one on his right arm, the other on his left shoulder. There was also a bandage around his head, which covered the stitched-up forehead wound, as well as some band-aids on his cheeks and arms. He was sweating heavily, his body heating itself in a fever to fight of the infections of his injuries. His wrists were tied to the sides of the bed with multiple zip ties, as were his ankles. Dangerous tools, zip ties only tightened, but the doctors and nurses in here could not afford to show any mercy; it could cost them their job if they sympathised with their patients, all of them criminals or villains.  
It must have been a hard job, having to treat someone who was ready to at best just rob you, at worst kill you in your sleep. But that's what made a civilized society, and like police women and men, these doctors and nurses deserved praise for what they did.

"Don't..please.", Tomura's breath quickened. That's when he was dreaming.  
He was already on his third dream – or rather nightmare –, occasionally moaning something about his father not to hurt him.

The former hero sat at the villain's side, his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands. He was exhausted and craved the sleep that didn't come to him. The clock on his phone told him that less than two minutes had passed since the last time he'd checked it, making it now 3:56am on a Saturday morning. His visit with Tomura at Tartarus had been only eighteen hours ago and he still remembered the moment he had walked into the cell after talking with the doctor.

* * *

 ** _18 hours earlier_**

"Is it any good?", All Might asked when he entered the cell and found Tomura reading one of the books he had brought him. The former leader of the League of Villains was lying on the floor, holding the book over his head in what looked like the most uncomfortable reading position All Might had ever seen. Tomura ignored him, instead finishing the page he was currently at, then placing the item next to him, sitting up and leaning his back against the wall. Father was placed over his face again and All Might couldn't help but feel disappointed about it, although he knew that it meant that Tomura had been behaving. Neither the guard nor the doctor outside had mentioned that the prisoner had gotten back his favourite item.

"You're late.", Tomura accused him and folded his arms like a spoiled child. There was no trace of the anxiety he had been giving off the last time. With Father on, he seemed to fall back into his villain-leader-role.

 _Well, at least he greeted me. More or less._

"I was..occupied.", All Might tried to explain without giving anything away, hoping they could leave it at that.

"The doctor talked to you, didn't she?", Tomura of course did not leave it at that. He was playing with the laces of his shoes while he asked that and All Might felt annoyed and amused at the same time. His voice sounded arrogant and cunning but genuinely curious at the same time – only Tomura managed to speak in such mixed emotions.

"You know I'm not allowed to answer that.", he told him what the kid should have already known and his eyes fell onto the book placed at his side, "So, is it worth reading? It was recommended to me, I wouldn't know."

The young man just shrugged, still looking at his red shoes. All Might nervously stepped from one foot to the other before forcing himself to sit down, debating on whether he really should break the rules regarding All for One.

 _I need to confront him on this. I will have to do it eventually, why not now?_

"I visited All for One today.", he just got right to the topic and Tomura's eyes shot up, looking at him as what All Might had described as pure adoration. He whispered something the man couldn't make out and there was a shimmer in Tomura's orbs he had never seen before.

"We talked about you, about your _father_ and-"

"Shut up.", Tomura interrupted him and bared his teeth behind the hand covering his face. Where there had been adoration, was now anger and rejection. Realizing that All Might read his face, he looked away again and hid the rest of it behind the hair. The former number one cursed himself for that third slip-up this day and took a deep breath before continuing. He needed to fix this immediately.

"I'm sorry, young Tenko.", he sincerely regretted mentioning that particular subject, hoping that Tomura would accept his apology.

"Stop calling me that.", Tomura snapped and sank his fingertips into the sensitive flesh of scarred arms.

"Come again?", All Might asked and frowned. Tomura didn't even hide that he was annoyed having to repeat what he just said.

"You know what I said. Don't call me.. that name.", he growled into his father and sounded almost like an animal doing that.

All Might passed his hand through his hair: "Alright, back to Tomura, I guess? You call me Toshinori then."  
He tried to find a mutual agreement, but Tomura just stayed silent, fidgeting nervously with his finger, trying to dig them into his arms, then realizing that it didn't cause the wished result, going back to his laces, getting bored and trying to dig them into his skin again.

"I shouldn't have mentioned that. Let's just talk about something else, alright?", he really wished he had just followed the rules, because the climate in the cell was feeling like it was already going in a wrong direction.

His feeling proved him right.

"Yeah, of course! Just say it, All Might! Speak what's on your mind!", Tomura snapped at him and his eyes burned, the red in his orbs matching the chucks All Might had gifted him more than ever, "Just say what you gotta say!"

"Shigaraki, calm down.", Tomura flinched at the guard's voice echoing through the room. Tired of digging his short nails into the thick skin of his arms, his hands shot up to scratch his neck. That didn't seem to work either, because he went straight to pulling his hair.

"Tenk-..Tomura, stop it!", All Might ordered him, because he knew that if he didn't, this visit would be over before it had even begun. But Tomura had him completely shut out. He went on to pull at the sensitive skin around his eyes and making father fall of his face in the process, damaging his own face and when All Might couldn't watch it any longer, he shot forwards, taking Tomura's wrists, one in each of his hands. The young man seemed shocked by that action and for a moment, he just stared in disbelief though he promptly regained himself, ripping his wrists out of the hero's hold, and then pushing the skinny blonde figure to the ground. Tomura's eyes erupted into a fire. Nana's grandson jumped up, buried his knee into the hero's stomach and made him defenceless holding his arms down. ShigarakiTomura was hovering over him like a wild animal, read to tear him into a thousand pieces and the symbol of peace knew for sure, had Tomura not been wearing those gauntlets at that moment, that the kid would have killed him.

How many times had Tomura tried to kill him by now? Twice?  
Even if what was happening right now was just a reflex because All Might had just taken his hands, the part of his body Tomura used his quirk with, how many times had the young man at least expressed the wish to murder him?

All Might remembered the conversation he had just had with the doctor in front of Tomura'scell: _"Why would Tomura stab you?"_  
His own stupid words.

Wasn't that obvious? Because he is a he is a villain. Someone who wanted to hurt society for the sake of doing it. Because he takes enjoyment out of it, because he was way past any sanity.  
Unlike his comrades, Tomura did only ever pretend to have idealistic goals.

 _"I think that you hate me because I couldn't save you from your fall."  
_ A fall too deep for All Might to reach. Dark like a new moon's night, dark like the loneliest ocean and Tomura was the anchor in it. An anchor relentlessly sinking, reaching for the bottom that never came. An anchor, that was too heavy for All Might alone to bring back to the surface.

 _Forgive me, Nana. I'm trying, but whenever I think that I've made some progress, I fall back again. It seems as if I really can't save anyone._

For a moment, All Might felt far away.  
 _"Be proud, Toshinori."  
_ Proud of what? He felt like he hadn't managed a single thing since Nana died.

"I KILLED HIM! I MURDERED HIM IN COLD BLOOD!", Tomura yelled directly into All Might's panicked face, pulling the man back to reality. The younger man's lips were formed into a smile so wide it hurt to look at. All for One's protégé giggled, his voice becoming high-pitched and reminding him of the day him and Kurogiri attacked U.A.  
"They never wanted me! And now I don't need them! I don't need _you_!", he let go of All Might's arms, reaching for his neck.

An opening for All Might to fight back, and he took it, tossing Tomura off him. All Might then remembered his first visit, where he couldn't stand up against the villain. Had he become so much weaker in those few weeks? No. All Might had fought too many battles to know that Tomura didn't actually care to have the upper hand. He knew he didn't stand a chance, at the very last when the guards entered, he just fought for entertainment. His giggling didn't stop when he fell onto his back and he didn't try to fight it, when All Might stepped onto his arms, holding him down with his own lightweight.

"What are you saying? Why wouldn't I want you!? How many times have I told you that I _care_ about you!"

To All Might's surprise, the giggling stopped and Tomura's laugh quieted down. Silence prevailed for a few seconds and All Might searched for the right words to interrupt it and to make his master's relative finally understand, but it was Tomura to eventually break the overwhelming quietness. His voice was calm when he spoke, but what he was about to say shook All Might to the very core.

"Then why couldn't _you_ save _me_?"

...

...

The world around All Might was shut out. He didn't register the guards coming in, neither did he hear Tomura screaming and struggling, nor did he realize that he was being guided outside of the high security prison. He didn't even register getting into the rented car.

" ** _Then why couldn't you save me?"  
_** _'This all never would have happened, if you would have just saved me.' – was what he had basically just said.  
He blames me for all the things he was forced to do.  
He blames me for not being able to ever live a normal life.  
It's all my fault._

" _This is your fault!" –_ Tomura's words he had already thrown at All Might on the first visit.

He _had_ blamed himself for what had happened to Tomura, but not solely. To Tomura however, there was only him to blame. Of course.  
Why would he blame All for One, the man who had saved him?

 _It's all **my** fault._

* * *

 ** _Present_**

After All Might had regained himself more or less, he had left the island of Tartarus. He didn't even remember what he did back home, only that he received a call from his notary, informing him that Tomura had been brought into the villain hospital on the mainland.  
Apparently, had had somehow been able to break the syringes the guards had tried giving him to calm him down, as well as broken one guard's arm and another one's jawbone. Panicking and seeing no other solution, one of them shot him twice. Tomura was then violently thrown to the ground, where had probably gotten that injury on his forehead from.  
All Might's notary had also informed him, that this was Tomura's very last possibility for rehabilitation.  
 _"If he misbehaves once again, they are going to strip him to a chair forever. He will lose all the humanity he has left."_

A shiver went down All Might's spine just thinking about it. There was still a chance.

 _Don't give up._

All Might checked the clock again: 4:05am. He remembered checking six more times before he finally dozed off. It was a good and deep sleep, something he had needed after this accumulation of tiredness. So while his body still hurt after sleeping on a chair, his mind felt rested.

When the man slowly opened his eyes, he expected to see Tomura still asleep.

Instead the lad was awake and a red blush graced his cheekbones, still showing the fever he had. And Tomura was crying.  
Tears were running down his wrinkly tempes and he sobbed very quietly, almost inaudible, becoming a child again in All Might's eyes. His vision looked blurry.

All Might cleared his throat and Tomura's eyes shot towards him, that blurriness vanishing instantly.  
When he realized that All Might was awake, he turned his head to the other side, trying to hide from his gaze and wiping the tears onto the bed's sheets. He also pulled at his restraints, but all he managed to do was to cut into the skin at his wrists and ankles. Tomura was stronger than he looked, but in this state, his physical strength would be the least of their concerns.

"Tomura."

"What do you _want_ from me?!", he hissed between his teeth and seemed to regret that his voice sounded this pathetic. The boy immediately bit his lip so hard, it started to bleed. No doubt he was forcing himself to stop tearing up, obviously failing miserably.

"You better listen to what I have to say right now.", All Might tried to speak calmly but authoritative. The topic was serious and could decide the rest of Tomura's life, whether he would ever see the blue sky again or spend his time stripped in a chair.

"They're fed up with you, all of them.", it was blunt but true. There was no reason to beat around the bush.

"Like they were not before all of this.", he said and grinned, still taking it all as a joke. Tomura was sad to look at, with his crude smile and the wet, red eyes.

His wide smirk disappeared, when he saw that All Might kept a straight face.

"I mean it: Whatever you do from now on, be it only to scream at one of the guards, will take away the last of the freedom you've enjoyed until now. They're not joking."

Tomura closed his eyes as if it could shut out the truth while blood dripped from his lip down to his chin. All Might stood up and walked up to the table next to Tomura's bed, taking one of the paper tissues placed there.

"Will you stay still so I can wipe that off?", he asked and awaited Tomura's reaction. The young villain opened his eyes again and looked up at him. He didn't answer, just extended his jaw and All Might slowly took a hold of his face and carefully patted the blood away. He expected his skin to be dry and rough, and it definitely was around his eyes were his thumb rested, but the rest of it was surprisingly smooth.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?", he asked and threw the used tissue away, sitting back onto his chair, but Tomura had his face the other way again. He sighed: "I will _never_ hurt you, Tomura."

"Why mention _him_ then?", the villain accused him, still looking away and talking toward the wall.

"All for One?", All Might asked and was met with a shake of the head.

"I see.", he whispered, understanding that Tomura was talking about his father, "I didn't mention him for the purpose of talking about it. I actually had made up my mind not to ever touch on that subject unless you wanted me to."

"Lies!", the younger one yelled and pulled at the restraints again, hurting himself more in the process. How did he still have the energy to fight after being shot twice?  
A new wave of tears flushed his eyes and there was no denying it anymore, that Shigaraki Tomura was sobbing like child.

"I hate..you!", his words felt genuine and it still pierced All Might's heart to hear them, but he understood now. He stood up and walked back to the table next to the villain's bed, taking two of the plastic cups and filling them up with water of the sink at the other side of the room. While doing that, he could feel Tomura's eyes following him everywhere. Turning around, Tomura turned his head again.  
All Might sighed and walked back to the side of his bed, where he held the cup in front of the restrained figure's face. Tomura looked up from the corners of his eyes and grit his teeth.

"It's alright, hate me all you want if it makes you feel any better,", he said and Tomura turned around to look at him, "because I still want to carry this burden with you. It depends on whether you let me."

Tomura was confused and All Might was sure he was frowning, although he couldn't really say, since half of his head was in a bandage.

"Why? Why won't you just let me rot in here?", he demanded to know and the former number one wasn't surprised to hear that. To Tomura, none of this made sense. Why would the one who hadn't come to save him, want to help him now? Why was this man, the man he had learned to hate the most, standing here trying to reach through to him? Was all he had learned from All for One been so wrong?

"I thought it was because of Nana. But it's more: I wasn't there when you needed me."

 _You already know that not everything All for One had taught you was the truth, young Tomura. You can keep denying it and letting your fears get the better of you, or you can face the hard truth.._ _and start to live again._

Tomura then raised his head as high as he could and All Might reached down to support it at his neck. His long hair felt soft like feathers in in the former hero's hand. He slowly put the cup to Tomura's lips, letting him drink until it was empty, then went on to empty his own. The young villain turned his head after that, a streak of pinkish-red flowing his cheeks. that didn't look like it came from the fever. All Might ignored it; he had already assumed that even such simple things as helping someone drink would be highly intimate for the young man. Tomura didn't let himself get touched by anyone (except for his master).

All for One's apprentice fell back asleep soon after that. He didn't wake up even when the nurses came to check in on him. Around lunch time, All Might was asked leave.

He stood up and gently brushed away the strains of hair hanging into Tomura's face. Even at the foreign touch, Tomura was in such a deep slumber that he didn't reacht.

"It's alright now, **I am here.** "


	8. Chapter VIII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER VIII – NOT HIDING ANYMORE**

Later that day, All Might found himself in his apartment, resting on his couch and casually zapping through the limitless number of television channels, not being able to think about anything but his night and the following morning at the villain hospital.  
On his drive back home, his notary had tried to call him again. All Might had not been able to take the call, so the man had left a message instead, telling him that his request on muting the microphones on his visits had just been abolished. Additionally, the number of visits had been cut back to twice a month instead of twice a week and no gifts were allowed to be brought in anymore. The man didn't say anything about the items All Might had already given Tomura, he also didn't mention the hand, but All Might assumed that all of it would be taken away from the prisoner as well.  
That was understandable, and he wished things had gone different. How would that visit have gone if he hadn't mentioned All for One at all? He knew he was partially at fault, but he was convinced that something like this would have happened anyway, maybe on his next visit or the one after that, but still unavoidable in the end.

"-villain hospital. We didn't know All Might's work wa-", his ears picked up from a channel he had just passed and All Might jumped. He went back and was shocked to see what the news was showing: pictures of him walking out of the villain hospital, taken only a few hours ago. Next thing was one of the nurses, he had seen in the hospital hallway, being interviewed.  
She looked very young, not much older than the students at U.A., and therefore still inexperienced, unable to properly cope with the questions she was bombarded with by all the journalists:

"What is an important personality like All Might doing at the villain hospital?", a woman asked.  
"I'm afraid I ca-", she tried to answer, only to be interrupted by another reporter.

"Is it true, that he is visiting Shigaraki Tomura, a man that was one of Japan's most wanted criminals?"  
"I wasn't finished-", she wasn't able to answer the second one either, and the questions just kept coming.

"Shigaraki Tomura apparently was beaten by two students of U.A., the school All Might used to teach at. Why do you think he visits him?"  
"Was the Hero-Killer Stain ever in this hospital too?"  
"Is there any connection between Dabi and Endeavor?"  
"Why is Shigaraki Tomura in this hospital? Shouldn't he be in jail?"

Suddenly, Kamui Woods came swinging in out of nowhere, landing in front of the reporters and shielding the young woman from the pushing journalists while they both got back into the hospital building. While the cameras filmed them until the doors closed, All Might could still hear people cry for any kind of information:  
"Tell us, Miss!"  
"Miss, Miss! Just a thing!"

All Might's phone suddenly rang. It was Gran Torino – he must have been watching the news too.  
"Hello?", he responded.  
"Have you lost your mind, Toshinori?! How could that happen?!", Gran Torino yelled into the phone with his raspy old voice and All Might flinched at his old master scolding him once again. After all these years, one could think he was used to it by now.  
"We should meet up, I need to start from the very beginning and I don't think this line is safe. I'll be at your place by 9am tomorrow, is that alright?", All Might asked.  
"You better bring some good explanation with you, Toshinori!", Gran Torino hung up, clearly enraged about the situation and All Might couldn't blame him. He was going to bring an explanation, but he was not sure it was as good as Gran Torino wanted it to be. First however, he needed to get some time for himself, digest everything that had happened and get some sleep.

The news had already passed onto the weather when he turned the TV off. A comfortable quiet spread.  
Hopefully not the calm before the storm. It was to expect that journalists and paparazzi would now try to follow his every step more than ever – he needed to be careful. He was used to the public and the media always wanting something from him, always in a good way though. Now, according to them, he finally had skeletons in the closet and they would cling onto it like bees to honey.

All Might stood up and walked into the kitchen. He had no appetite, but compromised with himself that he still needed to eat something and settled on a big protein bar. After forcing it down, he let out a cup of coffee and sat at the table, sighing heavily as he run through the day and his last visits with Tomura for the he-didn't-know-how-manyeth-time.

" _Why couldn't you save me?"_

 _Why couldn't I?_

A knocking at the door pulled him out of his thoughts.  
"Great.", he murmured when he tiptoed towards it and although he doubted this was a journalist, reminding himself that his apartment was on U.A. ground where they did not have any access to, right now he still didn't feel like talking to anyone.

"All Might!", a young voice cried as soon as he had opened it.

"Young Midoriya. And young Bakugou.", he greeted them. His own apprentice looked agitated, stepping nervously from one foot to the other, while Bakugou just leaned at the wall, arms crossed and nose wrinkled up.

 _Bakugou, like he lives and breathes._

"What are you kids doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?", he asked and simultaneously checked the watch on his phone. It was the middle of the afternoon; both of them should have still been in Hero course, even on a Saturday.

"Mr. Aizawa and #13 were supposed to teach us this afternoon, but they had to be somewhere.", Midoriya explained and looked to the ground. It was clear that he wanted to speak about something else but didn't know how to start. He then raised his head to look at Bakugou for support, but the young blonde didn't leave his red eyes of All Might and the former pro hero felt judged.

"I can see you want to tell me something, young Bakugou?", All Might asked him.  
It was Midoriya who answered: "We saw the news today. It's everywhere! They're saying Shigaraki is at the hospital and that you were there too. What happened?"

All Might gulped. Was his own apprentice going to judge him now as well?  
No. Midoriya sounded concerned, not reproachful. He couldn't say the same about Bakugou – other than his judging eyes, the kid was unreadable.

"Come in, both of you.", the skinny man then invited them, stepping aside. They did as asked and took place on the couch in the living room. All Might sat down opposite to them and folded his hands.

 _How am I going to explain this to them?_

With Gran Torino, it wouldn't be so much the discretion he had to keep as to not wanting to talk about what had triggered Tomura. With them, it really was the discretion and not wanting to drag them into something. Midoriya and Bakugou as well as all the other famous pro heroes had been crowded by journalists ever since they had beaten Tomura, only really able to freely walk around on U.A. ground. The public had never been informed, which students specifically had been responsible for the deed of bringing Japan's most searched villain behind bars, but journalists seemed to have a source of information everywhere. Even on U.A. ground it seemed.

His students didn't have to carry All Might's secrets as well. Knowing too much could get him and them into legal trouble. He needed to protect them. So what was he going to tell them?

 _Just let them talk first._

"Is there anything you want to tell or ask me? Anything you'd want to see from my perspective?"

"Why, All Might?", it was now Bakugou speaking, his voice as raw and powerful as his personality, but there was a hint of disappointment All Might could filter out. _Why, huh?_ Yes, that summoned up all he had done these past weeks. Why?

 _"Why? Why won't you just let me rot in here?"_

"Shigaraki's family has been a big part of my life. I blame myself for the way he has become."

"So, it's true then? You really visited that guy in the hospital?", Bakugou wanted to hear it from his mouth, but All Might just managed to nod.  
"That creep tried to kill us! Multiple times! And you're saying you visit him in the hospital? When was the last time you visited one of the clowns in our class whenever they had an injury?!", the explosive student instantly lost his cool and became loud.

"Kachann..", Midoriya tried to calm him, calling his childhood friend by his nickname, which made Mr. King-Explosion-Murder only more furious.

"Shut the fuck up, Deku! Don't you dumbass get what's going on?", even though Bakugou would have never admitted it, he was looking for Midoriya supporting him, confused on why his friend didn't seem angry at the symbol of peace.

"I..", Midoriya looked at All Might, asking with a facial expression for permission to talk, to reveal that the "news" wasn't really news to him. All Might nodded again and student looked back at his angry classmate: "Kachann, I already knew that."

"What?", Bakugou's voice dropped and he was visibly confused, looking from Midoriya to All Might and back to Midoriya, "What did you fucker say? You _knew_? _What_ exactly have you known, Deku?!"

"I told young Midoriya about me visiting Shigaraki in jail. It wasn't that long ago-", All Might answered for his apprentice, but couldn't finish because of Bakugou's shouting and attempt to kill the dark haired teen interrupted him.

"IN JAIL?! FUCKING DEKU! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

"Calm down, young Bakugou!"

"Don't tell me what to do, All Might!", although the younger blonde did bawl at All Might, he did calm down, letting go of the other teen's collar (as if he was seriously going to punch him), then turned back to Midoriya, "Then why the fuck are you here, Deku?! Don't tell me you're here because you're seriously concerned for that hand-creep!"

Midoriya's freckled cheeks turned a light peach and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well..kinda.", he managed to say before Bakugou grabbed his collar again.

"Enough, Bakugou.", All Might's voice now stern and Bakugou grumbled something before he let go and sat back, crossing his legs and his arms with a pissed temper.

"I have disappointed you. Both of you.", All Might took a deep breath before continuing, "You're right, Bakugou, I could have been a better teacher. A better hero. What I'm doing is sending out certain signals, I know that."

Midoriya opened his mouth to say something, however All Might raised his hand to stop him. He wasn't done.

"The villain world out there now has seen, that if someone like Shigaraki doesn't have it as bad, with the symbol of peace even visiting him in the hospital, why would they if they happen to get in jail? The public most likely will never approve of what I'm doing and that's fine, but to me, this is the right thing. I know you all have a feeling of revenge towards the League of Villains. I get it, but where would this world go if we, as professional heroes, would listen to those kinds of feelings? What signal would _that_ send? I am at fault that Shigaraki has become like this and I will set things right."

Bakugou just snorted.

"All Might.. what happened?", Midoriya asked again, genuinely concerned about Tomura's well-being but only got a shake of the head.

"I hope one day, when Tomura is allowed to see the blue sky again, he'll tell it to you himself.", he used the villain's first name on purpose, showing the affection he held for the young man to them, an affection that grew stronger with every additional visit.

* * *

Around one and a half months later, Tomura was put back into Tartarus und shortly after, All Might was allowed to visit him there. Gran Torino had originally planned on accompanying him, but had different plans the last moment.

They hadn't seen each other since their last meeting, when they had met up to discuss what had happened that made All Might come out of the villain hospital.  
He didn't hide anything, not the gifts he had brought Tomura, not what he had spoken about with All for One and he broke his own vow, not to speak about Tomura's father but with the kid. After that, he told him about the villain hospital and about talking with his students.  
Gran Torino had either nodded or shook his head but had never said anything until All Might had completely finished speaking.  
And then, he hadn't said much.  
"You're too far gone now, Toshinori. If you don't manage to reach him now, it will leave a hole in your chest that will never heal."

The days and weeks following that event had been pleasantly quiet. He had managed to avoid the media pretty well but other pro heroes, especially those teaching at U.A., had sought to speak to him as well. He ended up having a conversation with all of the teachers, principal Nezu as the head. He did tell them about his visits to Tomura, although he had kept a lot of details to himself, never mentioning All for One or any other things concerning the prison and the island it was standing on.  
The mouse had then complimented him for his efforts and encouraged him to keep going. Yamada had supported him as well, Aizawa hadn't said anything at all and the other pro heroes had just looked unsure throughout the whole conversation.  
Still, they had come to the mutual agreement to tell the media, whenever confronted by them, that All Might was working on an investigation they didn't know anything about.  
Soon, the whole subject had become uninteresting, with the public thinking All Might had only visited Tomura to further his investigation concerning a crime and with every passing day, less and less media outlets talked about it anymore.

Today was Christmas Eve and on the way to the island, All Might had passed endless trees decorated with colourful Christmas baubles, shopping windows full of fairy lights and young couples strolling in the streets, probably having dinner and then exchanging gifts. After Nana had been killed, All Might had spent some time in the US, where Christmas held a different meaning than here in Japan. He had also been in Europe, where every country seemed to have its own traditions regarding it, sometimes celebrating it a few days later than what they were used to.

Midoriya was going to spend the evening with someone special as well, although he hadn't said with whom. All Might did have a few people in mind, but hadn't pushed the subject, not wanting the teen to feel embarrassed.

Light snow fell from the grey sky. The streets seemed empty and the world around him quiet. For only one second, he felt as there was no more evil in this world.

 _I want you to see the good things in this world, Tomura._

In the elevator to the lower levels of Tartarus, All Might felt his heart beat faster than usual. Something big was going to happen today, he could feel it.

When he arrived at the block, the guard didn't even notice him. He was staring through the little window into the cell and had his surroundings completely shut out. It was a man All Might hadn't seen yet.

"Hello?", he greeted and the man just waved at him, advising him to come look into the cell as well. All Might frowned but did as asked placed himself next to the man, looking through the glass.

Inside, Tomura sat face to face with another guard All Might didn't know either. In front of each of them laid a Chinese Tangram, a puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes. Next to them was a book showing a default shape.  
They were playing against each other. Whoever was able to lay his shaped according to the default one first, would win.  
And Tomura beat the guard at every single one, laying the shapes with his left hand only (since the other arm was in a brace because of his gunshot wound). He was fast, taking just a quick look at the book, then immediately creating the default shape and he looked like he was enjoying himself too.  
Then, there was a short horn-like sound and the guard inside started packing all the flat shapes and the book into a box and left the cell without saying a word. Tomura didn't move from his place, just lowered his head and hid behind the hair.

After the greetings and the rules, in which he was informed again that there was no muting of the microphones anymore, he asked them about the game.

"Shigaraki has been impeccable these past days in here, as well as the weeks he spent at the hospital. His lawyer has therefore requested for him to have some sort of entertainment for half an hour once a week. Volunteers are not allowed into Tartarus, therefore the job gets stuck with us.", the man who had played the game explained, followed by him smiling.

"You don't mind doing it?"

"Not at all. It makes our job more interesting too.", the other guard who had been watching them through the window answered instead, "Last week, when he had more trouble moving, we showed him some rebus puzzles and he solved them one after the other."

"I see.", he thanked the guards and entered the cell.

"Hello.", to All Might's surprise, Tomura greeted him first – not only that but in for the very first time in a way that was 'normal'. He didn't look up and his voice had something unusually timid about it. All Might liked to believe that this were glimpses of a personality he would have developed if he hadn't been taken by All for One.

"It's good to see you again, young Tomura.", All might greeted him back and sat down where the guard had sat only minutes before.

"That was quite impressive.", he started the conversation and luckily, that got Tomura to raise his head and look at him with the softest his scarlet eyes could be. His forehead was mostly covered by his hair, so All Might couldn't see how well the stitches had healed.

"The game, I mean."

"You were watching?"

"Only the last three or four rounds.", All Might admitted, "You like games a lot, don't you?"

"Yes.", came the short answer and Tomura smiled. Not the creepy evil villain smirk that was too wide to be human: It was a real smile, a childish smile, a smile that could have made someone out there fall in love with him.  
Like Midoriya, he could have spent Christmas Eve having dinner, exchanging a gift or two, looking at the fairy lights in the shopping windows and the big colourful baubles hanging on the trees and if the weather was nice, enjoying the view at Mount Fuji—

"How are your wounds?", All Might asked before he lost himself in his thoughts and earned what looked like it was supposed to be a shrug.

"Does it hurt?"  
A slow nod.  
"Are you feeling ok?", he tried again an something unreadable flashed in those red orbs. His happy mimic changed into a depressive one in a flash.  
"Tomura?"  
"Have them kill me. I want to die. _Please_.", Tomura breathed and bit his lip for pleading like that. By now, All Might knew that the young villain hated nothing more than showing his human emotions. Him admitting his feelings so openly, when he knew they were being listened to, could have been meaning only one thing: He couldn't take any of this anymore.

"You don't have to hide from me, Tomura."

All for One's apprentice (former apprentice was more on point now) slowly rose his hand and tried to scratch at his neck, but his facial expression showed that it hurt too badly for him to do it. Pinching his eyes together, he bit down on his lip again, making himself bleed once more. It reminded All Might back to that Saturday at the villain hospital, where Tomura had let him wipe off that mess of his chin. This time, Tomura stood up himself. Shaky on his legs, like a new-born calf, he slowly walked towards the sink to grab the paper towels and then wiped it off. When he turned back, All Might had stood up as well, standing only three feet away. They were both tall and Tomura would've been even taller if it wasn't for his bad posture.

"Tomura."

"Didn't I already tell you it's too late?", it wasn't anger with which Tomura spoke; it was despair. All Might had been a hero long enough to know that under that surface, he was just someone calling for help. But he couldn't see himself anymore, too lost in the darkness All for One had led him into, too lost to find the way back to the light.

But not too lost for someone else not to find him.

"It's not too late. You have to trust me. I will help you."

" _A chance to save a child who has lost his way and bring him back to the light."  
"And no matter how much you're fighting it, no matter how much you hate me, I will save you from the darkness."  
"I think that you hate me because I couldn't save you from your fall."_

"I..I can't.", Tomura's eyes were wet with tears again and he was visibly fighting to keep them in, trying to accomplish that by going back to his League of Villains persona.  
"I will tear down this world. First this jail, and then all of you. And I will do it all with my own hands, I don't need these other fools.", he put all his anger into these words, but to All Might it was nothing more than an empty threat. He had seen Tomura at his worst, at his most defenceless. He knew what he had to do.

"Shimura Nana, your grandmother.. she was like a mother to me."

At the mentioning of his family name, Tomura looked away, avoiding All Might's eyes at all cost as he carefully patted the bruise on his lip with that paper towel.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be to you what you needed me to be back then.", the blonde stepped forwards and gently took a hold of Tomura's shoulders, the villain still not looking at him. Nana's grandson was one or two inches smaller than the hero, but with his back like that he was small enough for All Might to place his chin on the young man's head. And he did, without asking.  
"We may not share the same blood and we never will."

All Might raised his hand to the back of Tomura's head, carefully pushing it towards him while Tomura's fluffy hair caressed that wirnkly skin of his hand.

"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."

When All Might's shirt became wet with tears, he knew that Tomura finally didn't hide anymore.

* * *

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** Thank you for reviewing again! I'm glad you enjoy! : )


	9. Chapter IX

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER IX – FALLEN ANGEL**

What had he done?

He had cried.  
He had cried like a child.  
Not only that, but into All Might's shirt nonetheless.  
What had he done?  
What the hell was wrong with him?

 _What's the next pathetic thing I'm going to do in front of_ him _? In front of all of_ them _?_

He was disgusted by himself, by that weakness he had shown and he cursed the cameras, the microphones and everyone that had been watching and listening to them. How could he have been so oblivious, so naive? He should have known better; he had been taught by the best, how could he not have known better?! Stupid, stupid Tomura!  
But the worst thing was yet to come: He couldn't even deny that All Might holding and comforting him had felt.. _good_.  
It had felt _so_ good! It had felt like everything Tomura had been looking for his whole life was just there, like all his wishes, whatever they were about, had been fulfilled at once.  
If All Might would have just pushed him away, if the symbol of peace would have just been as fake and evil as All for One had said he was, all of this would be easier: Tomura could just continue to hate him like he had been doing for the most part of his life. Instead, he kept being thrown back to that moment All Might had placed his chin on him, the moment the man had softly touched his hair with his hand, with those long and skinny fingers of his that were just like Tomura's, the moment he had pushed his head towards his chest.  
They had then spent the rest of the visit in silence, with Tomura quietly crying into All Might's clothing and the hero just holding him, slowly stroking circles on his bony back. When the guards had called time, All Might had softly pushed the younger man away, looking at him with a (proud) smile.  
Even with those sunken in dark eyes and that jejune blonde hair, everyone could still see who he was because of _that_ smile. It was too bright for Tomura to take in, so he had averted his eyes and looked at the ground. At this point, he wasn't going to deny that All Might really cared for him. The fact opposed everything he had learned about the man, however he still couldn't let go of his own feelings, feelings of anger and abandonment that were engraved into his bones.  
Did he want to let go of them?  
He felt so torn about everything, how could he even know what he wanted anymore?

"Tomura?", the man then had asked but Tomura had ignored him, still looking to the ground, not wanting to take in the light that was All Might, then suddenly feeling a rough hand touching his cheek and wiping away the wetness his tears had caused. And Tomura, unfocused like he had been, had leaned into the touch.  
Like a pet.  
Like a child.  
How disgusting and weak.

His skin crawled at the thought. Not even because of the hero touching him, but because he hadn't fought it. Why hadn't he fought it? What would his Sensei do if knew?

 _Where's your fucking dignity?_ Why was he letting these people do with him as they pleased?

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."_

All Might's words just didn't leave his ears, his brain, his heart. Those had been the words which had pushed Tomura to his limits, ripped down the barrage that had held back his tears. The more he repeated them in his head, the more wrong they felt.  
Wrong, wrong so wrong, yet so.. warm, safe and homelike.

Father.

Someone he could turn to.  
Someone he could bond with.  
Someone who would never get tired of teaching him throughout his whole life.  
Someone who would always be there for him, no matter the time, no matter the distance.  
Someone who would support him in his decisions or stop him from doing the things that harmed him and his surroundings.  
Someone who would accept him the way he was.  
Someone who would love him the way he was.

 _Your father didn't love you. He didn't_ **want** _you. Neither did your mother._

 _Shut up._ , he ordered his brain and clenched his fists, causing the healing wounds to hurt.

 _You're still wearing his hand because you're fucked in the head._

Could his anxiety just stop talking to him? He couldn't think about his parents, it would only stir up additional bad feelings he just had no power to deal with right know.

 _This isn't the first time you've embarrassed yourself in front of that man.  
Remember the hospital? He saw you crying there too and you let him touch you, not once but twice!  
Remember what you asked him before you were brought to the hospital? You've shown him all your weaknesses!  
Sensei would be so disappointed!_

Tomura groaned at himself, hoping it would scare away that part in his brain that wouldn't stop talking about all these things he wanted to forget.

 _At least you're a tiny bit closer to getting freedom again. Just build some more trust. They've stopped drugging you since you came back. Just behave and it will all play out._

That was the thing though; Tomura didn't want to play this game anymore. He was tired of lying, tired of fighting. Yes, he did want to get out, it was driving him mad staying in here, but he felt as if had no energy left to achieve that goal.  
Why couldn't they just kill him? Was this their way of torturing him, locking him up until he became even more insane than he already was?

 _As if that was possible, you disgusting fucking freak._

Since the day he was injured, he had just enjoyed behaving, blaming it on his wounds. Not being able to do anything but sleep most of the times had its appeal. It didn't feel as if he was wasting time.  
Then his lawyer had even gotten these dumb guards to play games with him. How had he achieved that, especially after All Might had told Tomura at the villain hospital that the people were just waiting for him to do something stupid again, so that they could restrain him to a chair and lock him up for good? Had All Might lied? Who was that lawyer-guy anyway? He hadn't even met him once those past months. Wasn't he supposed to meet with Tomura in here on a regular basis?

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."  
_ Why couldn't he just stop thinking about it?

 _He's nothing to you! You hate him! He ruined Sensei's face!_ , Tomura tried to convince himself and to go back to the pure hatred, without success.

Sensei. Had Sensei ever been like a father to him?

No, not really. To his master, he had been a tool, he knew that, he just didn't care enough to question it. Sensei had saved him, given him everything he had desired, why would he question his motives?

But.. how would Tomura have turned out if it hadn't been for him?

 _What a stupid fucking question. You would have been dead. There is no you without Sensei. All for One gave you **life**._

Tomura ignored the voice in his head and tried to really think about it. It was challenging, as if he was discovering something forbidden, something he should never think about.  
He knew that he would have been more timid, a characteristic Sensei had purged from him. He had liked flowers a lot too, and animals, but he would never admit to that today. Tomura cringed about himself, at how fucking embarrassing that thought was. The leader of the League of Villains, weak for the eyes of some dumb puppy? Also, flowers? Really? What was he, some naive little girl?

Flowers.  
There had not been any flowers around his childhood home. The garden had been a neglected wasteland, empty like his father's soul, grey like the inside of their home. No decor but the bottles of alcoholic liquids, liquids Tomura would enjoy drinking today.  
Back then however, they had only been the cause for so much pain.

 _"It hurts!"_

 _Don't think about it._

 _"Stop, please!"_

 _Don't think about it!_ , he ordered himself but the pictures kept coming and Tomura tried to ignore them, tried to push them away, to think about something else, but the only other thoughts his brain allowed him were All Might comforting him.

What was it going to be, All Might or his father?

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."_

All Might comforting him.  
His father pulling his hair.  
All Might stroking circles on his back.  
His father slapping him across his face.  
All Might wiping the tears of his cheeks.  
His father starving him.  
All Might wiping the blood away of his busted lip.  
His father choking him until all he saw was black.  
All Might placing his chin onto his head.

 _"Disgrace! You're a disgrace!"_

 _"Please, daddy, stop!"_

His heart was racing and he started to feel dizzy, it was too difficult to breath and suddenly, his chest hurt so bad it even faded out the pain of his gunshot wounds.

 _Calm down. Calm down. CALM DOWN!_ , his orders didn't work, his brain wasn't listening, he was losing control, he was losing control, he was dying, was going to die! Tomura tried to breath but his lungs didn't fill!

The thoughts raced in his brain.  
 _All Might. Father. Sensei. League of Villains. Hate. Decay. Kill. Father. Stop. Stop. STOP._

"Please..", his teeth were grinding hard on another, making his jaw hurt, but he still managed to push the words trough, " _please_!"

His begging seem to work: Someone entered the room, he couldn't tell who and he didn't remember much, just that he was forced to swallow something that calmed him down in a matter of minutes. Right now, he couldn't care less about how pathetic he looked; he just wanted all of this to stop.

 _I want to die._

* * *

"Don't walk in front of me, half and half bastard!", no one who had met him could ever forget Bakugou's voice or choice of vocabulary, he was truly unique in every aspect. But who was he talking to? Half and half? That must have been Todoroki.

"Don't be like that, Kachann.", only Midoriya called Bakugou like that.

"Shut the fuck up, Deku!"

"Why are you so angry all the time, Bakugou?" That was Bakugou's close friend, Kirishima, always a grin on his face.

"Nobody asked for you fucking opinion, bad hair!"

All Might was waiting right next to the classroom's door when the students walked out, all of them respectfully greeting him before heading towards the exit.

"All Might!"

"Young Midoriya! Long time no see.", the skinny man greeted his apprentice. They were already a week into January and had not seen each other since the day before Christmas Eve.

"What are you doing here?", Midoriya asked as they both exited the building together. Most of the snow had already melted away, but the temperature was still freezing and Midoriya dug a hat out of his jacket, his dark hair disappearing underneath it as he pulled it over his head.

"I thought you might have time for me after class.", the symbol of peace said, "We haven't talked in a while and I wondered if you'd care to join me for some hot chocolate at my apartment?"  
The student didn't take long to answer that.

At the man's place, All Might prepared the hot chocolate first, as promised, and then sat opposite to Midoriya, speaking with the teenager about all kinds of things, first about One for All, then about the coming exams the hero-in-training was currently preparing himself for. Midoriya had always been a good student, diligent and hungry for information. That hadn't changed to this day and it was impossible for him to fail, All Might was sure. After that the man addressed Midoriya's Christmas Eve evening, but the student dodged the topic, obviously still too embarrassed to reveal any details about his.. was it a 'significant other' already? The kid wouldn't even tell him that.

All Might had not planned on talking anymore about Tomura or Tartarus in general, but it was Midoriya who addressed it after finishing his cup: "All Might.. Shigaraki.. I mean.."  
The kid bit his lip, unsure about the choice of words but then settled on a simple 'How is he?'.

"I shouldn't talk with you about this, it could get us both into legal trouble.", All Might explained, but was willing to reveal at least a tiny bit of information, "But he is doing alright, at least physically."

"I see.", Midoriya said and lowered his head.

"Young Midoriya,", All Might spoke up after finishing his cup as well, "now that we're on this topic, I have a confession to make. I've been having a bad conscience regarding you."

Midoriya raised his head to meet All Might's eyes and frowned: "What do you mean?"

"These past few months, I only had my mind on Tomura. I've been completely neglecting you and I wanted to apologize."

"What are you saying, All Might?", the teen opposite to him asked with a genuinely confused look, "Right now, Shigaraki needs you more than I do! Please don't apologize!"

"Young Midoriya,", All Might tried again, "when I told you that day at Kamino, that it was 'your turn now', I didn't mean to just leave it all to you. I still need to guide you, just like Nana guided me. I am so proud of what you've become and I want to accompany you to the day you get your professional license and beyond."

There was a glitter in Midoriya's orbs and he looked like that fifteen year old boy again.

"Will you let me be your teacher again?"

Surprisingly, the student really seemed to think about at it, despite what he had said before.

"I still don't think there's any reason to apologize. But yes, of course I want you to be my teacher again!"

All Might smiled, a stone falling from his heart.

"But I have a request."  
It was blunt, direct and unlike Midoriya and All Might found himself unprepared for what was about to come.

"What's that?"

"I want to visit Shigaraki."

All Might's face lost all colour.

"I want to help too. Please?"

* * *

 _"'Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  
But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, who leads the whole world astray.  
He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.'"_

 _A hand caressed his head._

 _"Don't you think that sounds beautiful, Tomura?", All for One asked from on the sofa, gently turning the thin page of the book in his lap with the hand he had just touched the younger villain's head with.  
Tomura rarely saw his Sensei anymore. Most of the time, the man was connected to a machine with the Doctor keeping him company, looking for different quirks they could use to further the healing process. All for One then communicated with Tomura through either the computer set up in the bar, or the one in the teen's room. This was one of the rare occasions All for One just wanted to spend some time with him. At least that's what he had said: No assignments or exercises, but Tomura still felt like he was being tested when the man asked him questions like that one._

 _"Not really.", the teen answered, his eyes fixed on the big screen before them. He was playing an action-RPG, ironically one with a dragon ruling the earth. The fair-haired boy briefly wondered, if that text passage may have been the inspiration for it but assumed the creators just had copied another medium. Having read a handful of fantasy books and played hundreds of videogames of the sort, he knew that all of it was more or less the same. They were either all inspired by the same source or just copied one another, no one was really creative anymore. But then again, there's only so much stories one could do._

 _"Any further explanation?", his Sensei asked, just proving Tomura's point that the man was testing him._

 _"Nah.", was the kid's short answer, not in the mood to do any of that._

 _"It reminds me a lot of us."_

 _Tomura paused his game and turned to look at the speaking black mask:"How?"_

 _All for One smiled behind it, satisfied with Tomura's natural curiosity._

 _"God, the One to give quirks, the One to take them away.  
All for One.  
He gave Lucifer, the angel he loved, his little brother, everything that he desired.  
But Lucifer, the holder of One for All and his army of angels, the army of heroes, rebelled against him and a war broke out.  
A war that will hold on until the moment God sends out Michael, his archangel, his apprentice, who shall lead God's armies to fight the one who betrayed Him.  
And Michael will defeat the hero and his fallen angels."_

 _The teen stared at him for a few seconds, before telling him that "he didn't see it", turning back to his game._

 _"That's too bad. I hoped you'd learn to appreciate a comparison as poetic as this."_

 _"That's not poetic, it's just crap.", he said while finally beating that annoying last boss of the dungeon._

 _All for One placed his hand on the teen's head again._

 _The student stopped pressing the buttons on his controller when his teacher intertwined the fingers of his big hand with the messy silver hair, unintentionally massaging the dry scalp. It felt good, relaxing and in moments like these, Tomura completely forgot that he hated any kind of physical contact._

 _He felt like in trance  
– until he disintegrated the item he was holding. _

_The young villain looked down at his own hands, now covered in dust. A message popped-up on the screen, telling him to re-attach the controller.  
"Great.", he murmured and decided to immediately get a new one. Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall would surely have a shop which sold them._

 _Suddenly, his master's hand closed in on his hair, pulling hard on it when Tomura tried to stand up, making him groan. His teacher then let go of it and the teen rubbed his head, trying to ease the pain._

 _"Watch your tongue when you talk to me, Shigaraki Tomura.", All for One said with his calm and soothing voice, but Tomura knew that it was a warning._

 _"I will, Sensei."_

Tomura shivered at the memory, but thinking about Sensei's lessons kept him from wandering to thoughts which made him feel even more uncomfortable. He had kept himself busy this way for days, maybe weeks, Tomura didn't keep track of the time anymore. His wounds were still bandaged, but didn't hurt anymore and although he could have cleaned them himself, he found himself craving for company and therefore let the doctors do their work, even if he hated them touching him.

One of these days All Might came back and Tomura's eyes glowed up when he saw the man holding an older American board game under his arm.

"Hello, Tomura.", the man then greeted him, his smile warm and.. fatherly. Tomura caught himself and quickly looked away, but All Might didn't seem to mind that the younger one did not greet back; he sat down, started unpacking the box, placing the pieces of plastic onto the board in a manner that made it look like he already knew the game very well.

"The guards don't want to play anymore?", Tomura asked, still mostly looking away but occasionally peaking at the man setting up the game.

All Might shook his head: "I cannot tell you about the things we speak outside. But I can tell you that you're wrong."  
Tomura decided not to further comment on that.  
Once the game was set up, All Might took the dices and placed them in front of Tomura: "You start, kid."

Tomura then turned to him, not able to resist a good board game and observed the way All Might had placed the villagers, a blue and a yellow tribe.  
"I'm blue.", he declared and moved three of the villagers standing on the island's outer circle directly into the sea fields, then removed one of the main island's pieces on All Might's side, one which didn't have any villagers placed on it and turned it upside down, showing the symbol of a shark. After he had placed a shark token onto that field, Tomura rolled the two dices.  
Dive and sea serpent: All Might's villagers were going to have a hard time getting off the island.  
He was off to a good start.  
Then it was All Might's turn. None of his villagers were placed onto the sea fields, he instead moved the meeples standing on the inner circles of the island more to the outside. When he removed one of the tiles on Tomura's side, a whirlpool showed up and killed two of Tomura's blue villagers.  
It didn't matter, nothing was decided yet. The hero rolled a number and the sea serpent, moving away the one Tomura had placed near the tiles his villagers were standing on.

Just as Tomura was about to start his turn, All Might spoke up: "One of my students would like to visit you."  
The kid stopped his movement, holding his hand in mid-air.

"Why?", he tried to ask calmly, but his voice was shaky, betrayed by his feelings that were in an uproar again.  
Who was he talking about? When did this student want to visit him? Why would one of the students he had tried to kill so many times want to visit him in the first place? What was happening?

"He wants to get to know you and it would be a great learning experience for him. And he could make his semester project about..this topic."

"'Topic'? You mean about how to treat the scum like me once we are caught and jailed?", Tomura spit out and reached up to his neck, but didn't scratch yet.

"You're not scum, Tomura.", All Might eyes looked sad saying that.

"You're the only one who thinks that way.", it hurt Tomura speaking those words aloud, but he threw them at him like an insult.  
 _You're the only one who thinks that way and that's why you're stupid._

"He thinks that way too.", All Might said and the former leader of the league didn't know what to say to that.

"What's up for me?"

"Nothing for the visit-"

"Then I don't want to see the brat.", Tomura interrupted him, let go of his neck and continued the game, moving two of his villagers to the rim and the third in the sea one field towards the safe land.

"But", All Might spoke again, "it would be a plus factor in your therapy data. The more you work towards reparation, the better your situation will get."

"What's there to get better?", Tomura asked, softly biting his lip when he heard how weak his voice sounded, cursing himself for showing weakness again.

 _You're losing your touch, Tomura._

"Maybe once day, they might be willing to transfer you into a normal prison."

Tomura looked at the man with a face that really didn't say anything.

"You wouldn't be alone all the time and there are always a lot of things to do. For example you could work in a garden, under an open sky."

Tomura gulped. He imagined his finger digging through the softness of moist earth, never decaying, never killing –  
earth, with its distinct fresh scent, something else he could touch with all of his fingers beside water, something nurturing and alive that didn't die in his hands, hands that were made only to destroy.

He let go of the island tile he was holding, not in the mood to play anymore.

"Alright."

"Are you sure?"

Tomura nodded, although he wasn't sure at all: "If you're there as well."

"I will always be there, Tomura."

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."_

* * *

 **End note:** **  
**1\. I didn't mention Midoriya's date by name because although I am not a shipper, I want everyone's ship to be possible. Tell me, do you ship and if yes, what are your otp BNHA ships?  
2\. In one of the mangas, there is a "concept art" for Shigaraki, where it's said that he was a boy that loved flowers and animals. I am not sure if this is applies to the canon anymore, but I want it to.

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** Don't thank me, I thank you : )) Let me know if you ever decide to write your own story!


	10. Chapter X

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER X – BETRAYAL**

All Might knew that it wouldn't be easy to get an official permission for Midoriya to enter Tartarus, but he hadn't imagined it being _that_ difficult.

After his last visit, the guards had talked to him about what they had heard through the microphones, informing him that they wouldn't let a hero-in-training know the exact location of Tartarus, let alone just so he could visit Shigaraki, a villain who had only caused them problems. But All Might wasn't going to give up because of them.

The day after, he first talked to Aizawa after class, who next to All Might knew Midoriya's ability best and who was objective enough to evaluate the situation. All Might didn't reveal any information about Tomura or Tartarus, just presented his own perspective and how the visit could help Tomura _and_ Midoriya in bettering themselves. To that, Aizawa said that he didn't care as long All Might was sure that the student was one-hundred percent safe. Mirdoriya wasn't going into the cell alone, all would be fine, All Might promised.

After that, it was principal Nezu who signed the approval, but only after All Might agreed to share a cup of tea with him. The principal often seemed lonely – an animal with a quirk still was a very rare being, even in a society in which almost everyone had at least one quirk, so the mouse appreciated every visit. He was a curious being, asking all kinds of things about Tomura, about how he was doing and what he was like underneath that angry surface. Unfortunately, All Might wasn't allowed to share most things (unfortunate indeed, he really wanted to talk about the young man with someone other than the guards) but what he was allowed to speak about, were his own feelings towards the villain.

All Might told him that he liked Tomura a lot, that he believed in him and that Tomura had a kind heart but had been misguided for most of his life. Luckily, the principal didn't try to convince him about how Tomura 'was a murderer', he just listened and accepted.

A few days later, All Might visited Midoriya Inko, the kid's mother, at the place of their home and asked for her permission. Like the case with Midoriya staying at U.A. after the whole Bakugou kidnapping affair, she was against it. Her son however, who had been part of the conversation as well, eventually managed to convince her to approve and to sign the authorization letter. All Might was sure none of the people he asked for permission would regret it.

 _Tomura is not like he was before._

At the end of the week, All Might visited his notary, who was responsible for the rest; the man set up a letter and sent All Might's request together with Midoriya Inko's, Aizawa's and principal Nezu's approval to the appropriate authority.

Now, it was a matter of waiting and All Might was aware that they would take their time in granting – or in the worst case, denying – his request. So the first week passed, followed by the second without anything particular happening and soon, All Might found himself on his way back to Tartarus.

 _Tomura._

How would he react at seeing Midoriya?

All Might was almost on the island, only a few minutes before he would get to see the kid again. He was already late to begin with, so he accelerated, racing towards his destination.

Unfortunately, he wasn't going to see Tomura that day.

* * *

 _Father._

 _Father usually hurt him when he drank and he drank a lot – most of the time actually._

 _But Tenko still forgave him, Tenko still loved him._

 _There were days however, when Shimura wasn't drunk, when he wasn't abusive towards his child, at least not in a physical way. On the very rare of occasion, Tenko's father would hug him and ruffle his head, telling him how sorry he was and that he had not been himself; that he would do better in future and Tenko, well Tenko forgave him again.  
He forgave him every time, because all he wanted was the man's love and attention._

 _Tenko was not a stupid child: He knew that life had not been kind to their family. They didn't have any money and Tenko knew the feeling of hunger well – though not only because of the lack of money, but also because his father would often lock him up in his bedroom for hours on end without water or anything else. He remembered wetting himself when he was locked up, which infuriated his father even more._

 _Shimura would often grab his hair or head and throw him to the ground._

 _One day all of this would get better, wouldn't it? Maybe his mother would then return too: His mother who had left him, because he was cursed, a demon child._

The next memory was from one of the times his father had taken him with him. He remembered them being at Kannai Station and taking the Negishi Line to Yokohama. His father had not been drunk that day, but not any less angry with him, slapping him across the head multiple times while they had waited for the train to arrive. Of course, none of the bystanders would say anything to him, telling him to stop abusing his son. To them, he was just a child being scolded for misbehaving.

At their destination, his father had met up with some guy he owed money too and that small child had watched how someone had beaten his only family into a bloody pulp.

 _"Daddy, get up!"_

Shimura did have a job, but as a drinker, the money just didn't last long enough. Tomura couldn't imagine the huge amounts of debts he would have inherited if he had kept the Shimura name to this day.

Father.

He remembered his past so well, yet his father's face seemed to have disappeared out of his mind.  
Tomura closed his eyes and tried to think about his father's appearance, but it just wouldn't show. Instead, his father's frame turned into All for One when he still looked handsome, then into All for One with a black mask and finally into a skinny All Might.  
It didn't make him feel as uncomfortable and disgusted as he would have liked.

Today, thinking about his past for once didn't cause any panic attacks. Maybe because he was feeling good. Why? Was it his inner clock telling him that it was the day All Might was visiting?

 _I shouldn't be happy about this._

 _"This is all for you, Shigaraki Tomura."_ , he repeated Sensei's words in his mind, but with every day, they meant less and less to him. He was changing and it was all due to All Might.

 _I want to get out of here._ He didn't want to admit it but he missed the League. He missed how Toga Himiko talked about feeling good when she was with them or when she swooned over Midoriya Izuku. He missed Twice, his split personality and even that simple costume he always wore, making him look like straight out of an American comic and he missed Mr. Compress with his magic tricks and.. he hated to say it,but he even missed Dabi, always acting so arrogant and like a know it all. But most of all, he missed Kurogiri, who had always been so patient with him.

How long until All Might would get here? Tomura wanted to speak to someone, to listen to someone and to have company.

 _"You can call me Toshinori."_ Should he? No, he didn't want the man to call him Tenko either.  
 _For a different reason though. Shimura Tenko is dead._

 _Shimura.  
Shimura.  
Shimura Nana._

Tomura shook his head. What did his grandmother mean to him? Nothing, he didn't know her and he didn't want to, but how ironic was it that his own life was so intertwined with All Might and this from the very beginning, from the day he was born?

Tomura wondered if All Might would bring the student with him today, but something told him that this special visit was going to be another time. It was kind of obvious he was going to bring Midoriya.

He waited.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours with Tomura waiting impatiently for All Might to arrive. Had his body's instinct been wrong on the time? Had it not been exactly two weeks?

 _I_ did _stop counting the days. I really could be wrong._ But he was sure that he wasn't.

All Might however, did not come that day.

And Tomura, former leader of the League of Villains, successor to All for One and one of the most dangerous villains of Japan,..

..felt like a child left alone.

...

Tomura pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees. Was it really so important that All Might came here? When had he started to miss his sworn enemy? He wanted to be angry, to feel the raw hatred towards the man that had –– what had All Might done to him?

 _He brought me shoes.  
He brought me books.  
He visited me at the hospital, after I went back on my promise to behave._

"Hello Shigaraki."

Tomura startled and lifted his head to stare at whoever had spoken.

"All..Might?", he asked, his voice timid.

There he stood, a skinny blonde figure in front of him, in the middle of the cell. When had he entered? Was Tomura hallucinating? Was he dreaming? Had he just not noticed? And why did he call him 'Shigaraki'?

"Are you supposed to be dangerous? Don't make me laugh, you look weak." Those words hit Tomura like a wall and he found himself surprised that he would get hurt by them so much. Why would he say that?

 _Why do you care so much, Tomura?_

"What the hell is wrong with you?", he asked and All Might grinned.

"Don't you get it, Shigaraki? You don't mean anything to me, or to anyone else. I've been using you all along, making you addicted to me and now that you're looking forward the see me, I'm going to let you fall. They should have just killed you. ", All Might crossed his arms and there was something so evil glimmering in those sunken in eyes, it made the whole League of Villains look like a group of kindergarten children.

 _"You don't mean anything to me, or to anyone else."_ Tomura bit his lips. He already knew that!

But if he knew, why did it hurt so much hearing it from _him_?  
Tomura lowered his head and hid behind his hair. This was not happening, this was not real!

"You don't sound like All Might. What kind of trick is this?", he whispered.

All Might grinned.

"Haha..you got me.", his voice suddenly changed as did his appearance. The skinny limbs became thicker and the white shirt and the green pants All Might usually wore, turned into a black suit. Only a few seconds later, there where All Might had been standing, now stood the man who had saved Tomura all these years ago, his face concealed by a black mask.

"Sensei.", Tomura couldn't believe his eyes. How could this be? All for One was locked up here in Tartarus as well! Was this another quirk his master had never told him about? And was he the only one who could see him? No guards were storming the cell so it must have been like this, right?

"But..how?"

"Is this so important, Tomura? The only thing that matters is that _I am here_.", his Sensei's voice was calm and only now did Tomura realize how much he had missed it.

"Do you want to get out, Tomura?", was that guy mocking him? Who on earth wouldn't want to get out of his damned cell?

"Yes.", Tomura answered, concealing that he thought this was a stupid question.

"Then answer me one thing, my apprentice. Why are you betraying me?", All for One then asked and pulled the ground away beneath Tomura feet. The younger one couldn't believe what he was hearing!

"What?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Shigaraki Tomura.", All for One's amused voice turned into something strict, "I thought you were better than this, I trusted you. Why then, have you decided to betray me?"

"I am not betraying you, Sensei!", Tomura shouted to his defence and hated how pathetic his voice sounded while he did. Whenever did he become so small and weak? Why was his master so angry with him? He didn't do anything wrong, did he?

"You have lost your goal, Shigaraki Tomura. All Might is your enemy, yet you are still here, waiting for him to visit you like a dog."

His master's disappointment was like someone punched his gut over and over.

 _All Might is my enemy! I know this, I_ should _know this!_

 _..._

 _Then why does my heart say differently?_

All these years, all of his life, he only wanted to kill All Might, to fight this society and its fake morals and ethics and all for what? The bring justice to those like him but.. Tomura felt as if he had wasted all of his time marching towards a goal that wasn't his.

"Don't you have anything to say to that, Tomura?", All for One's voice became soft again and he stepped towards Tomura, waved with his hand telling the younger man to stand up. The apprentice did, though slowly as not to hurt his still healing wounds and stepped up to the even taller man, who raised his hand to caress Tomura's head.

Unlike with All Might, Tomura wasn't ashamed to lean into this touch and for a moment, it felt like they were back at the apartment with All for One making him breakfast and him sitting at the table, playing some game on a handheld console. His own fingers had been so tiny that they couldn't reach all the buttons.

All for One's hand went down to his cheek, caressing the dry and scarred skin around his eyes, his thumb brushing the scar across his lips as it went down to his jaw.

"Tomura, my little Tomura."

All for One's hand then closed around his neck, successfully stopping any further supply of oxygen down to his lungs.

"Sen..sei.", Tomura breathed whatever was left out and reached for the hand suffocating him, but didn't have the courage to pull it away. Was this his punishment for being so fucking weak?

"Please..", Tomura begged but his vision already began to show black spots. Then, All for One let go before of him and the youth fell to his knees, coughing and grasping for air.

"Tomura,", All for One started again when Tomura was done, "If you are truly to be my successor, you have to redeem yourself in my eyes."

"Redeem?"

"Shigaraki Tomura,", All for One's voice was mighty, "If you bring me the head of All Might's student, I will forgive you and get you out of here."

Tomura looked up and frowned: "The student?"

Had All for One been listening in on their conversations?  
How many times had he seen Tomura showing his weaknesses to the enemy? How many times had he seen Tomura laying there like a bag of potatoes because he was full of drugs?

The blood in his veins froze.

How many times had his Sensei seen his beloved apprentice fraternizing with the enemy?

"I want you to hurt him first, and then you can kill him. Can you do that for me?" Tomura lowered his head, his heart beating in his ears and his stomach feeling like after a night at the bar. Could he do what his Sensei wanted?

"I have tried that..it didn't work.", he admitted. All for One kneeled down and wiped away one of the tears that had formed in the corners of Tomura's eyes because of his coughing.

"I will help you, my apprentice. Will you do it?"

Who was more important to him at this point? The man who had saved him all these years ago or the man who claimed to be saving him now?

 _"You don't have to hide from me, Tomura."  
"I'm sorry I couldn't be to you what you needed me to be back then."  
"It's alright now, **I am here.** "  
"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.."_

 _Why am I not able to forget these words?_

 _It's too late for me – All Might, you can't save me from the path I have chosen!_

"I ask you again, Shigaraki Tomura: Will you redeem yourself to me?"

There was no escape from All for One, you either chose him or death.

 _Can I kill All Might? Can I still do it?_ Tomura closed his eyes and in the darkness of his mind a child awaited him.  
It was Tenko, little Shimura Tenko, who cried for his mother, for his father, for any kind of love.  
Love that All for One denied him when he didn't to as told.  
Love that All Might gave him even if he was a murderer.

He missed Father's hand on his face, he wanted to hide from this reality. He just needed more time to think!

 _What do **I** want?_

 _Kill All Might, kill the symbol of peace..  
Kill him, Tomura.  
Kill the symbol of peace.  
KILL HIM! _

_..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _"I'll be there."_

 _I can't do it...but I have to._ There was no other way to survive this.

"I will, Sensei.", he answered and hid the scarlet eyes behind his bangs.

"Oh..they noticed.", All for One then suddenly said before disappearing and the second after he did, guards stormed the cell but abruptly stopped when they saw no one but a quiet Tomura sitting against the wall with his face hidden. He didn't startle this time and he didn't look up.

* * *

They wouldn't let him in. No matter how hard he tried, the way to Tartarus was closed for that day. Whatever was happening in the high security prison, no one would inform him about anything. Thanks to Tsukauchi, who was standing outside in front of his police car, he at least knew that there had been no break-out, but even the police officer wasn't allowed to tell him anything more. All Might just assumed that it was All for One who was giving them trouble again.

"At this rate, there will be no death penalty for him before he breaks out again.", All Might said and Tsukauchi nodded sadly.

"I agree, but there's nothing we can do to speed it up. It's not in our hands anymore."

"Unfortunately."

 _I'm sorry Tomura, I hope you're not angry with me._

* * *

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** Always a pleasure to get review from you, thank you : )

 **Answer to HankFlamion18 (user):** I feel so honoured! Thank you : ) Your fic is on my to-do-list!

 **Answer to Guest (guest):** I am so happy you love it! Thank you for reviewing!

 **Answer to TheStarsBurnedMySoul (user):** Thank YOU for leaving this beautiful review! I already knew this story wouldn't gather a lot of readers, also because it doesn't have any ships. There are not a lot of Shigaraki-centered fics out there, so I figured I would have to write it myself and it makes me so happy to see you enjoy it : )

 **Also, thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favourites/alert subscription (in the meantime and in general)!**


	11. Chapter XI

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XI – WHERE DO I BELONG**

Apparently, no one had heard or seen Tomura speaking to his master. They didn't outright tell him, but it was easy to figure out that All for One had done something to the electronic devices inside his cell. Tomura couldn't tell what (they didn't seem broken and Tomura assumed that All for One had more likely interfered with the electricity than the devices themselves), his master had never spoken to him about his different quirks, but the guards acting as if nothing had happened was proof enough. They were losing their cool and this would surely speed up the process in giving All for One his (in their mind) well-deserved death penalty.

All Might didn't come that day, or the day after or even the day after that. At first, Tomura had been angry and disappointed, but reminding himself what he had to do to survive this, he wished All Might would never come back. He was sure he would break apart if he had to kill someone close to him again.

 _But Sensei is angry with me._ He dug his nails into his arms at that realization. How could that have happened? How could the man he hated so much persuade him into caring? Tomura had **never** cared about anyone but All for One and himself. He had liked Kurogiri and some of the members of the League and he missed having them around him, but he hadn't particularly cared about them other than their use as allies in reaching his goals.

But now, he cared about someone – no, not someone, about All Might himself.

 _I have truly become weak._ Tartarus had broken him. Had they managed to break the Hero Killer too or.. was _he_ just so pathetic?

Later, one of the caretakers came to help him clean himself, a tedious affair but Tomura still had trouble completely moving his arms. The people beside All Might who came into his cell usually never spoke, either because they weren't allowed or because they feared him. This time however, the caretaker who was replacing his bandages with clean ones chose to comment on his behaviour.

"You're so quiet today, Shigaraki."

"Fuck off.", he spat in return. Oh yes, he may have become soft at heart, but he still liked to show himself as an asshole, especially to those who kept him locked up in here.

Tomura didn't eat his lunch, or dinner – or whatever they were giving him –for days, until they threatened to drug and force-feed him. Then he ate, but he never felt hungry and he never felt full, his mind was just too focused on other things to care about the taste of food.

One day, one of the guards entered his cell with a special offer: "Shigaraki, I am coming with a request."

"Don't give a shit.", he answered and turned to face the wall. The guard did not care about his answer, continuing to talk as if Tomura had never said anything: "Prisoner 8540, villain alias 'Kurogiri', has requested a meeting with you."

Tomura wasn't sure he had heard right. He turned back to look at the guard: "What?"

"Prisoner 8540 has agreed to accept our conditions if we would grant him a meeting with you. Agree to meet him and he will fulfil his part of the bargain, or as you would say, 'everybody wins'."

"I would never say that." The guard acting as if he knew him made his blood boil. How dare he?

"Will you accept this request, Shigaraki?" This guy just completely ignored everything he said on purpose!

"You must be very sure of your security measures if you'd offer me a meeting with another prisoner."  
The guards mimic didn't react the slightest at Tomura's words, but the villain was sure that behind that perfectly trained façade of his, the guard was thinking about All for One and how he had used his quirk(s) without anyone or anything, be it the surveillance cameras or the computers that registered his brain scans, noticing.

"Just answer the question, Shigaraki."

There was nothing to lose by meeting with Kurogiri; of course he accepted and a few days later, Tomura was led out of his cell and into another room of the prison building, where his former faithful servant was awaiting him.  
The air in the meeting room was different than the one in his cell which smelled 'artificial', as he would describe it. In here, it was more like in the city, like cement during summer after a long day of raining. This only strengthened Tomura's desire to get out of Tartarus.

The black mist man sat a table and Tomura never realized that it bugged him so much seeing Kurogiri not wearing a tie. Then again, he had never been very fond of _any_ changes.

The young man was led to his chair at the opposite end of the table and sat down, placing his cuffed hands onto the wooden table as he had been told before. As he did that, Tomura noticed how Kurogiri squinted his eyes in disgust, as if he couldn't bear to see the golden boy of his master reduced to a quirkless prisoner.

What did Kurogiri want to talk to him about anyway? They were being recorded full-time, no chance for them to talk about how to break out.

 _And even if I do break out, what will my next steps be? Will I go back to my plan to kill All Might? How does that change from what I have to do now?_

"You look different, Shigaraki Tomura.", Kurogiri started and what a stupid thing to say it was! How was Tomura supposed to answer to that? Already, he was feeling annoyed.

"How so?"

"Your hair has grown longer and you seem to have lost some weight.", as expected, he started with something superficial, "But what strikes me the most are your eyes. They are softer than I remember them."  
Tomura averted his eyes towards his folded hands on the table, pointing fingers lifted. How many finger and hand exercises had he done as a child to learn how to control his quirk? Was this the reason his fingers were so long and slender, because he always moved and stretched them? Or was he just more like his mother? Father's hand was shaped so much different than his.

"What a load of crap, Kurogiri.", he didn't know what else to say.

"Shigaraki Tomura, what have they done to you?", his concern was sincere, Tomura could tell.

The fair-haired kid gritted his teeth. He wanted to scream about how they had drugged and isolated him, how All Might's stubbornness had broken his spirit, how they had touched him without permission and forced him to eat that disgusting prison food.  
Instead, he kept thinking about all the things they **had not** done; they had not tortured him, they had not let him die by his wounds and.. All Might had not given him up on him, not to this day.

"Nothing to get hung on about. Tell me what you agreed to do so you could have this meeting."

"I agreed to reveal the names of some people of the Union."

"WHAT?!", Tomura shot up from his seat and knocked the chair over in the process. Kurogiri planned on giving those people the names of all their resources, finances and supporters? What in the hell was he thinking?

"Shigaraki.", the warning was immediate.

"Calm down, Shigaraki Tomura.", Kurogiri's voice was calm and Tomura did as told. He cleared his thoughts: The mist was planning something or he wouldn't have agreed to do that.

Nobody bothered to put up the chair, therefore Tomura remained standing.

"It doesn't matter now. What does matter however is if Sensei was right.", Kurogiri asked him and Tomura got the urge to escape, to hide from the guy that had been his caretaker (or babysitter, as Himiko would say) for so long. He knew what Kurogiri was going to ask next: "Say, Shigaraki Tomura, is it true? Have you betrayed all of us?"

Tomura's eyes shot up and he was sure that there was 'guilt' written all across his face.

 _No! No! No! It's not true! I have never betrayed them!_  
Had Sensei visited Kurogiri in his cell too? Of course he had, why else would Kurogiri ask him this specific question? Why else would he suddenly request to see him?

 _Am I not one of them anymore, just because I don't want to kill **him**? _He still hated the hero society, he still hated U.A. and what it stood for, he just didn't hate–  
 _You're a fucking coward, Tomura. Just say it!  
You like his visits, you like that he cares, you like that he sees more in you than just trash! You like that finally, you matter to someone._

Tomura cringed at his next thought, _You like that he's like a father to you._

"What have the heroes ever done for you? What has this society ever done for you, Shigaraki Tomura?", Kurogiri continued when receiving no answer from his protégé, "Out of all the children in this world, he chose _you_ as his successor. All for One was like a father to y––"

"SHUT UP!", Tomura shouted at him, his blood-coloured eyes glowing with anger. Surprised about his own reaction, he looked away again and spoke low but demanding this time: "I care about Sensei the most.. but he was never a father to me. Don't ever say that again."

He knew Kurogiri was not afraid of him: "Then what about the League? They do not follow me or Sensei, they have always been _your_ comrades. Don't you want to lead them again?

"You really think I ever cared about them?", Tomura smiled, baring his unhealthy teeth like the crazy person he was, but what Kurogiri said next wiped the grin off his face.

"You don't care about them but you care about All Might?"  
The former leader of the League bit his lip, all the feelings inside him going wild at that statement and he just wished he could hide his face behind Father.

"How could your loyalty be so easily broken?"

This one was easy to answer, _I guess I am such trash that I start to trust people who show affection towards me, is that so hard to figure out? Not even my parents wanted me.  
_ That last part hurt him the most and he wanted nothing more than to throw it at Kurogiri, so at least someone could understand the pain that was slowly killing Tomura inside, but the youth remained silent. Nothing he would say would get Kurogiri to shut up.

"Trust me when I say that All Might will never want you for who you _truly_ are."

"Why did Sensei not tell me about my grandmother?", it wasn't as if he really cared about her, he didn't know her, but for once it was Kurogiri who was speechless.

 _So he knew as well._

"Who told you about her? Was it All Might?", Kurogiri dodged the question but Tomura wasn't going to let him turn this – he was asking the questions now.

"Why, Kurogiri? Why not just tell me?"

"Why does that matter to you? She left you behind, that is all you need to know."

"Kurogiri, give me an answer!", Tomura ordered but his voice was small and pleading and it didn't make Kurogiri do anything. Why was he not listening to him?!

"Kurogiri..please.", this begging was on purpose and he hoped that Kurogiri would feel sorry for him.

No reaction.

This wasn't going anywhere. The young villain started to shake but Kurogiri didn't seem to care, he only pushed Tomura further: "Shigaraki Tomura, listen to me: You will never be a part of them, they will never forgive you for what you've done. They will always push you aside!"

Tomura could feel the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He swallowed a few times, successfully holding them back. He knew he was weak, Sensei knew it and now even Kurogiri knew it. But crying in front of him? No way was he going to let that last wall fall.

 _He's right. What was I doing, thinking I could ever be a part of_ them _?_

"Come back to us and All for One will forgive you."

 _Where do I belong?_

"Time is up. Do not speak any further or we will shoot.", a voice echoed through the speakers and the prisoners were led back into their cells, with Tomura feeling Kurogiri's eyes on his back and being more confused than ever.

* * *

Half a year had passed since Tomura had been imprisoned. One of the guards, a younger one, had mentioned it by mistake. Six months, _six_ months!

 _The world has probably forgotten all about the League of Villains._

Something deep in the corner of his mind whispered: _Wouldn't that be great? To start from the beginning?_  
Tomura didn't like where this was going. He scratched at his neck and his mind became empty, just like he wanted it to be.

All Might came back to Tartarus what Tomura estimated to be around a week after his meeting with Kurogiri, a chess board underneath his arm.

"I can't play chess. I could barely play Shogi until a while ago."

"What kind of greeting is that?", All Might placed the board and the gaming pieces onto the floor and stepped towards Tomura, who was sitting in a corner, his chin placed on his knees. Like a guarded animal, the youth watched the hero's every moment, but eventually didn't stop All Might from coming nearer. The blonde knelt down in front of him and ruffled his hair.

"Forgive me, Tomura. I couldn't.. come sooner.", All Might then apologized, his hand now slowly brushing the knots out of Tomura's hair. But the prisoner wasn't a fool; he could read how All Might wasn't (really) telling the truth, or at least not all of it. There must have been something he wasn't allowed to say. Had it something to do with All for One?

 _Don't care..right now.._  
Tomura closed his eyes, enjoying the fingers of his enemy caressing his head like All for One used to do.  
The man's movements became slower and when the hero's hand went down to his face and tried to push the bangs out of it, Tomura's own hand instinctively shot up, grabbing All Might by the wrist.

"There is no reason to be ashamed."

"I am not ashamed.", Tomura unwillingly let go of All Might and the man took it as a permission to continue. He tucked the hair behind Tomura's ear and when the upper part of the young man's face saw the light, All Might gently brushed against the scarred skin with the back of his fingers.

"Who did this to you?"

Tomura bit his tongue before answering: "I did."

"Why?"

"Because I hate myself more than I hate you.", He clenched his fists, digging his nails into the inside of his hand. A small part of his damaged skin was a side effect of his quirk, but nothing he couldn't have fixed with a bit of care. Most part was because he had teared at his skin with his own hands, causing himself pain and relishing on it. It freed him, it cleared his mind, it made him cunning and it helped him focus.

"Then channel all of your hate towards me because.. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Tomura opened his eyes and scarlet met blue. From the vast emptiness and darkness that was the villain's black heart, a feeling of warmth spread out into every limb, every finger, every fiber of his being at All Might's words. That is, until he thought of his master again.

 _He's watching me!_ Tomura jerkily moved his head away and brushed the hair back in front of his eyes. All Might looked confused, his hand still in the air, as if he didn't know if he'd just done something wrong and so Tomura decided on changing the subject: "Didn't you want to bring a student?"

 _A student I have to murder to get back at you.  
_ Again, the villain tried to convince himself that he wanted this, that it was because of All Might and this rotten society that people like him had no place in this world. A world which worshipped heroes that couldn't save anyone, him included.

And it didn't work. With All Might constantly visiting him, he had seen that there was a different side of people. Tomura had become more vulnerable, the thought of killing someone now made him feel like all these years ago, when he first had to use his quirk on a human being.

 _"_ _You will never be a part of them, they will never forgive you for what you've done. They will always push you aside."_ , right now, Kurogiri's words were the only thing keeping him from completely losing it.

"Ah, now that you mention it! He will come with me the next time I visit you.", All Might's confused look changed into a sincere and innocent smile and once again, Tomura had to look away.

 _All Might. Sometimes you shine so bright, that I forget the darkness surrounding me._

"I can't wait for the both of you to meet.", All Might added and walked back to the game board.

"All Might?"

"Yes, Tomura?", All Might sat down and placed all the gaming pieces onto the board.

"Where will I go when I get out of here?", Tomura asked and quickly added, "You know, theoretically."

All Might stopped with what he was doing and looked at him like he just asked if the sky was blue or green: "You can live with me of course."

"Eh?"

"I own a house downtown. I thought about giving it away since it's way too big for me alone. But if you'd come to live with me, well.. we could use the space and you'd have your own room.", the man continued to place the pieces onto the board. He spoke about Tomura moving in with him as if they were talking about something as casual as the weather. Tomura on the other side, couldn't believe what he was hearing. All Might planned on taking him in? He wouldn't ever get out in the first place, but just the thought of it..

 _"I will save you from the darkness."_

"And..maybe, you could go back to the previous name.", All Might quietly mentioned and placed the last piece onto the board, a piece Tomura remembered being called a 'knight'.

All the happiness (was it happiness that had spread inside Tomura after All Might had told him not to further hurt himself as well as offering him a place to live?) vanished instantly after that name was spoken.

"Are you fucking kidding me?", Tomura asked in a lowly, warning voice. All Might was in dangerous territory again.

"Wouldn't it be easier to live with a proper name? I don't even mean your first name, but Shimura–"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to fucking call me that?!"  
 _I am not who I was anymore! I am not Shimura Tenko!_

"I..I am sorry. I shouldn't have said that, forgive me, Tomura."

"Whatever."

Tomura wasn't stupid, but it took him a while to memorize all the different figures and their possible movements, although one had to mention that All Might wasn't a very good teacher. Not like Tomura was in the mood to play anyway, all he could think of was how he had to hurt All Might to get All for One's approval. Soon, he guards called time without them having played one game.

The hero ruffled Tomura's hair again before standing up to leave – but Tomura could not let it end like this, not with All Might thinking that he was pissed at him.

"All Might, wait!", he called and got on his feet.

The hero stopped right before the exit, looked at the guard who just shrugged and turned around to a Tomura chewing on his lip, with a pink flush colouring his pale cheeks. All for One's successor didn't know how much younger he looked when he ditched the evil gaze.

"I..", he stuttered and All Might waited patiently for him to find his tongue.

"Thank you..for everything.", what a weird thing it was to say for him.

Tomura had expected All Might to smugly say something like 'You're welcome' or 'My pleasure', to simply nod, to ruffle his hair again, anything but what he did. Half a second later, Tomura found himself in the former number one hero's arms again.

"Always, Tomura."

With his ear against All Might's chest, Tomura could hear his heartbeat, but missed how it jumped with joy when the kid brought up his own arms (arms he could finally move), returning the embrace.

 _Sensei. I know you're watching. I do everything for you._

 _But this moment, I take for myself._

* * *

 ** _Fuchou prison, a few weeks ago_**

 _The world had never been kind to Iguchi Suichi, or 'Spinner', as he was known now. Even the members of the League of Villains occasionally called him a Lizard-guy, reminding him that he wasn't normal._

 _For the heroes, bullying someone because he was different wasn't enough to step in._

 _Then Stain made his appearance in the public; he sought out the heroes who's only goal was glory, money and fame and with this motivation, people like Spinner who had been pushed aside by society and heroes alike, finally found a purpose to live and a way to get their justice._

 _Spinner wasn't a criminal for the sake of being one, he wanted to achieve a goal and open up a world where people like him, or Dabi, or Toga, would be welcome as well._

 _Unfortunately, Shigaraki Tomura did not seem to have the same goal as him. Spinner despised their leader, but..._

 _Without him, they stood no chance of reforming justice. It was Shigaraki who had the connections and the resources and.. let's be real for a second; neither Spinner nor Dabi or anyone else in the League had the qualities to lead._

 _They needed him back._

 _But for that to happen, they needed to get out themselves. Dabi, Mr. Compress and he were in prison, their quirks bound. Toga was either in a prison for women or a locked psychiatry. Twice was who knew where. The whole situation had not been looking too good for them for months––_

 _––until now._

* * *

 **Answer to HankFlamion18 (user):** Why are you reading my mind :0 ! There are (were) indeed two ways this story could go and I have been ringing with myself if I should publish both (one as like an "alternate ending") but I'll stick to my original plan. Thank you for commenting!

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** you flatter me ~~ : )))) Thank you, dear! :3

 **Answer to TheStarsBurnedMySoul (user):** Another beautiful comment, thank you again! I LOVE every review and the longer, the better! Ikr, Shigaraki's story is just a tragedy and I am really interested on where Horikoshi will go with him.


	12. Chapter XII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XII – EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE**

„Do you want to go back?", All Might asked his student who was sitting on the passenger seat. The younger man's fingers were buried into his green school uniform pants and he was sweating, big drops wandering down his forehead. The teenagerwas naturally pale, but he currently looked like a sheet of paper.  
To All Might, it was only natural that his apprentice was so nervous; Midoriya hadn't seen Tomura since the day he had beaten him (together with Bakugou) and he had no idea how much the villain had changed.

 _It's not even fair calling him a villain anymore._

"No..I really want to do this!", Midoriya objected.

"Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself, young Midoriya and you don't need to prove something to anyone."  
He said that, but the former number one really wanted Tomura to get a visit from someone else beside him. If a younger person, especially a student of the school he had once attacked would have the courage to go into his cell, there was a small chance that Tomura would start to see himself as human again. Once Nana's grandson was able to accept himself, he would maybe start regretting. And if he truly regretted all the things he had done, then he could eventually forgive himself as well, which would mean..

 _..that I will get the possibility to show you all the wonderful things in the world, Tomura. I know you don't believe there are any good things in this life. How could you believe that after a life like this? But I will convince you otherwise.  
I want you to see the sun and the stars again._

And again, he was thinking too far ahead: Even if Tomura regretted, who said that they were going to release him anytime soon? Who said he was going to be released _at all_? No one had seen Tomura like he had. Well, technically the guards had, but they were drilled not to feel sympathy towards any prisoner.

Was there going to be a happy end to this story?

 _Before all of this, I promised Tomura and myself to never give up on him. I will not do that now, I've come too far._

If Midoriya didn't feel safe however, All Might was the last person on earth to try and talk him over, not even for Tomura's sake. This wasn't his apprentice's battle anymore – it was his own, a battle to free Shimura Nana's granchild's mind, to free Shimura Tenko from Shigaraki Tomura.

 _"– and then I murdered my own self, Shimura Tenko.."  
No, you didn't. I will never believe it._

During his imprisonment, All Might had seen the child inside of Tomura. It had been rarely, only a few glimpses of that purity and innocence and All Might held those moments dear, closing them into the symbolic treasure chest of his heart.

If there was one thing he was jealous of when it came to All for One, it was because the underground king had seen Tomura grow from a boy to a young man, something All Might would never get to see. Was this the jealousy and sadness a mother or a father felt, when they realized that they had been gone for too long, not seeing their own children grow?

Shimura Tenko – what a beautiful name, unusual for a boy, unusual for a child in general. But it fit him so well – a special name for a special personality and a special quirk. Instead, the boy wanted to be called Shigaraki Tomura, a name that held so much villainy and pain, a name that associated him with death. All Might had seen Tomura's signature on the investigation papers, below all the other personal information like hair and eye colour, sex, height and blood type, a kanji used for the word 'funeral'.

Horrible.

 _I hope I'll be able to call you by your real name one day._

Out of the corners of his eyes, he could watch Midoriya letting go of his pants, wiping away the sweat on his forehead and taking the notebook he always carried around, out of his bag.

"I am sure, All Might.", he said with a newly gained confidence and turned the pages of his notebook, "I have even made some notes on what to talk about."

All Might smiled proudly. _I couldn't even stop you if I wanted to. You are on the best way of becoming a hero, young Midoriya._

"You're not allowed to mention Tomura's name in your project, right? Aizawa said something about that."

The freckled young man nodded: "Yes. He doesn't think the school would agree to me visiting Shigaraki. But I think Kachann noticed something anyway."

"Bakugou? Why do you think so?"

"Iida told Kirishima about my project. I don' know for sure but I think he told Kachann. I don't get why he would be interested in it in the first place, but he's been very abrasive these past two weeks."

All Might frowned: "Don't get me wrong, young Midoriya, but isn't he always a bit abrasive towards you?"

"I guess..but it's different this time."

"I see.", All Might didn't see it at all; how was it different this time? He liked Bakugou for who he was, but the young hero wasn't really known for a very diverse character and way of thinking and looking at things. He could be abrasive towards Midoriya for no logical reason, the kid gets even angry when someone walked in front of him! But what was he supposed to say? If Bakugou really had realized who Midoriya was visiting, All Might would have to sit down with the lad and have a chat. It was not the idea to let Bakugou feel excluded after all this time, he already knew about One for All and All for One, he might as well know about Midoriya wanting to visit the prisoner they put in jail in the first place.

But what if he wanted to go to Tartarus too?  
 _No, not Bakugou. He would only go to fight Tomura again._

All Might noticed the gas light flashing up: "Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing.", it really wasn't even worth mentioning, "I thought I just pumped some gas, but it's already almost gone. The car doesn't feel as light either. I will have to tell the rental place."

"Will we make it anyway?"

"Sure, we're actually almost there."

In Tartarus, everything went as smoothly as All Might had wanted it to go; the prison's security guards were already informed of a student visiting and guided them both to the elevators, giving the student a feeling of safety.  
All Might was used to everything in here, but Midoriya couldn't stop looking around, taking in everything his eyes would catch just like Gran Torino had done.  
How was his master, anyway? All Might made a mental note to get in touch with the older man soon. He, who had always been so sceptical about Tomura, would want to know about the progress the prisoner had made these months.

On the lower floors, another guard awaited and asked them to follow him to Tomura's cell. The temperatures down here were always a bit cooler and Midoriya rubbed his arms to keep himself warm.

"Too bad they took my jacket."

"You'll get used to it in no time, don't worry.", All Might assured him.

As usual, the guard informed them both about the general rules but added some additional points just for Midoriya. He asked the student to listen carefully and told him that not following the rules would have serious consequences, even if he was still a minor.

"First off and this is the most important, we ask you to not approach to the prisoner under any circumstances. Please stay near the exit and don't move or walk around unnecessarily. Second, do not talk to the prisoner about any outside information, be it as simple as the date or the weather. If you're unsure whether you're allowed to talk about it or not, just take the easy route and don't do it. Third, do not provoke or threat Shigaraki and don't be provoked by him: He likes to play mind games a lot. On the other hand, it's important that you do not show any fear or he will it use it to his to be confident but not cocky."

It was a bit much to keep in mind but All Might didn't doubt that his apprentice couldn't do it – he was a smart kid.

The guard continued: "When I open that door and Shigaraki is sitting or laying down, you sit down as well. If he stands up, you stand up too."

"Why is that so important?", Midoriya wondered aloud.

"He might feel threatened if you tower over him but we don't want him to get overconfident either, so always try to meet with him on equal footing.", the man explained and looked over to All Might before he continued, "These rules are usually not applicable, but you're still a minor and even if the people higher above agreed to your visit, they still prefer not to be the centre of the media because of something happening to you."

 _He's already nervous to begin with, don't scare him unnecessarily._ , All Might thought to himself and placed his hand onto his apprentice's shoulder.

"Do not fear, young Midoriya. I'm right behind you."

All Might looked at the guard for help, but the man just frowned and a sudden anxiety spread inside the blonde's chest at that face. He feared the answer to his question, but he had to know: "Isn't that right?"

"I am sorry to disappoint you, All Might, but you are not allowed to enter at the same time."

All Might couldn't believe what he was hearing: "What?"

"The documents we received clearly mention only Midoriya Izuku to enter the cell. There's no word about you accompanying him."

"You must be joking, right? This must be a mistake?", All Might demanded to know but received only a shaking of the head, "Are you out of your mind? You can't send a student in a cell with a prisoner alone!"

"All Might, it's no problem–", Midoriya tried to calm his teacher but was interrupted by the guard.

"Are you suggesting it's not safe, All Might? Wasn't it _you_ who made the inquiry? If you do not think that it's safe enough, we will cancel all of this immediately."

Although the way the guard had said it seemed rude, it stopped All Might from speaking further.

 _Am I really suggesting that?  
Am I _secretly _thinking that?  
_ The doctor with the bendable pencil came to mind.

 _No. That's not it. I just want to support young Midoriya! This wasn't supposed to go like this!_

"All Might.", Midoriya tried again and he turned to look at the boy, "It's alright. Everything will be fine."

Wasn't it supposed to be _his_ job to calm down his student? Now it was the other way around and All Might couldn't help but feel old, way older than he was – and he felt as if Midoriya had already surpassed him in many ways.

"But..", he tried again but stopped himself. Nothing he would say would persuade the guard to infringe the rules. He hadn't made them, he just followed.  
And Midoriya could defend himself, right? Tomura was quirkless.

 _Nothing is going to happen. Why am I so worried? I should believe in_ both _of them!_

"All Might. We can watch and listen to everything from the camera room. Nothing should happen if Midoriya Izuku sticks to the rules. There will be guards standing in front of this door: In the rare case of emergency, we will intervene before something happens to him."

Midoriya then stepped in front of the door and peaked through the little window. His teacher wondered how and what he was going to feel, seeing the man that had tried to kill him multiple times, in this.. sorry state?

Midoriya bit his lip.

Pity. That was what he was feeling.

The guard started to unlock the door. While he did that, All Might placed his hand upon Midoriya's shoulder again and the teen turned his head, waiting for him to say something.

"Young Midoriya..", he searched for the right words, "I.. thank you. For wanting to help I mean. And good luck."

The young hero nodded and put on a bright smile and All Might let go of him.

How could that fifteen year old boy grow into a strong young man so fast? He had been nervous but he had pulled himself together and now here he was, visiting one of Japan's most dangerous criminals and wanting to help him.

 _Your selflessness is admirable._

* * *

Tomura was really tired.

He couldn't remember having been able to sleep properly those past two weeks, constantly having to think about his meeting with Kurogiri, about Sensei and All Might and trying to find out what his heart wanted; It was all kinds of things from wanting to kill every living garbage on this doomed planet, to wanting to hear Sensei praising him when he did well in his training..to wanting All Might to embrace him.

Sometimes he pushed into an even more forbidden territory, imagining what it would be like if he lived together with All Might in the same house. The hero had promised him an own room, but whenever he tried to imagine that part, he kept thinking of his old one near the bar hide out. The shelves in that room had been filled with books and toys, the walls plastered with maps and various news articles about heroes. It had been a dark room, an ugly room: A place with bags of trash piling up because no one bothered cleaning neither the room nor the rest of the apartment (and especially because Tomura didn't want people looking around his room). An apartment that All for One had frequented less and less with Tomura growing into a teenager and further into a young adult. He had hated the place, preferred to spend his time at the bar, where he would drink so much he would fall asleep on the wooden counter to find himself waking up back in his room. But still.. technically, it had been the place he grew up. And now all of his possessions had been burned to ashes.

 _"Come back to us and All for One will forgive you."_ Why had Kurogiri not talked to him? It wasn't in his character to act all secretive.

 _Maybe because Sensei was watching..?_

"Shigaraki, you have a visitor." Tomura startled at the guard's voice. He hadn't even heard the door being opened and when he looked up expecting All Might, a young man he just knew too well was instead standing in his cell.

The student.

This feeling.  
What was it called?

Ah yes.

Unbridled **rage**

– yes, that was the feeling that was taking a hold of his heart and his whole body.

Rage because it was him, _him_! Who else could it have been, of course it was _him_!

The guard patted the teen's back before closing the door, leaving them effectively alone – and the kid at Tomura's urge to kill inside his brain switched on and he suddenly felt all of his body burn with energy.  
He wanted to take in the irony smell of blood and fill his lungs with the smell of death; the death of one of the students that had put him in here.

Had it not been for him, Tomura would have been able to kill the symbol of peace back at the attack on U.A.  
Had it not been for him, the Vanguard Action Squad's other members – Moonfish, Mustard and Muscular – would not have been arrested.  
Had it not been for him, Tomura would have been able to escape with the kidnapped classmate through the portal his Sensei had opened. It would have been an even more fatal blow to U.A. and the heroes and maybe Sensei wouldn't have been arrested.

Had it not been for Midoriya Izuku, Tomura wouldn't have been caught and put into Tartarus.  
And then All Might would have never been able to visit him. And everything would be as it was before, everything would be fine.

The young hero made a step back, as if he could read Tomura's mind and feel the bloodlust.

This was the student Tomura would have to kill to prove himself to his master and oh, how much he suddenly wanted it! But right now, the kid was too cautious.

 _Calm down, Tomura._

It wasn't easy and Tomura felt like a drug addict, seeking the next shot that would calm his whole being. There was an impulse to lay all of his finger on the teens neck, chest, face and––. Funny how he kind of knew that it was this guy who would come to visit but he's still surprised. _  
_Tomura took a deep breath and greeted his visitor: "Midoriya Izuku."

How truly different they were, not only when it came to the side they chose to be on in this world. Even their faces; Midoriya's was so perfect; he was plain and not even his freckles could save that. He was so plain he could have been the perfect protagonist of a book or a manga, making the readers see themselves in him.

"Shigaraki Tomura.", Midoriya's voice was tiny, like a mouse. He sat down, probably something the guards had told him to do. Midoriya had just felt his bloodlust, no one in that situation would sit down unless he had been told to do so. Tomura wasn't stupid, when were they ever going to stop underestimating him?

"Tell me, hero, ", he made sure to lay all of his venom into his words, "why are you here? What could the pure Midoriya Izuku want from someone like _me_?"

Midoriya looked already overstrained with this question. He was sweating and was getting pale.

"I..", he grit his teeth before speaking again, this time with a stronger voice and a confidence he seemed to have taken out of nowhere, "I want to help too."

"Help?", Tomura repeated and burst into laughter. The confused look that appeared on Midoriya's face only made him laugh harder.

"Help?! I don't need any help! How could _you_ ever help me, _hero_?", he grinned widely and could feel his lips starting to crack again. Midoriya couldn't hide his fear from the prisoner, he just switched from being scared in one moment to becoming a confident wannabe-hero the next. All for One's apprentice was actually surprised he had not been warned yet through the speakers. Was All Might in Tartarus as well and if yes, was he watching? Why would he let Midoriya do this all alone? Hadn't he promised to be there as well? Or was this all Midoriya's idea?

 _Kid probably wants to act all grown up. It's almost cute._

 _I'll tear your dreams apart._

"There isn't much I can do but.. I guessed you were lonely in here.", Midoriya's eyes wandered down to his hands and it looked as if he blamed himself for putting Tomura in this position. He was obviously trying to make up for that and there was only one reason why; because All Might had told Midoriya about him. And now the kid was having a bad conscience and trying to clear it.  
Why else would he want to visit Tomura, the former leader of a group of criminals who had murdered civilians, other criminals and had even tried to murder children? It was all just too obvious.

The fact that Midoriya was feeling sorry for him made him so furious, that urge to murder this child in cold blood became even stronger and Tomura could feel his own red eyes burn with hate. He wanted to get these gloves of and grab that neck and disintegrate it until there was nothing more than dust.  
Right now, he didn't even care what All Might would think about him, he just wanted to stop the stupid kid's heartbeat.

 _I hate you. I hate you and your friends and your school. Your very existence PISSES me off!_

Midoriya stood for every failure in his whole career as a villain, as becoming the heir to All for One.  
A small voice inside him still cried for All Might's hand to brush his hair and for the man to smile so bright it would fill Tomura's heart with light, but that voice was silenced by hate, so much hate that poured out of that black hole that was his soul, his mind and his body.

"I could be your friend!"

All of the anger and hate was suffocated in an instant. It had been big and daunting like a burning forest, but what Midoriya had just said was even bigger and Tomura's burning fire was suffocated with what felt to be all the waters of the earth thrown onto him. He was empty.

Friend?

 _Friend?_

Tomura did not have friends.

The members of the League had been his comrades. Had they been his friends too?  
Maybe in their eyes, not in his though.  
He wanted friends. He craved to have people around him who liked him for who he was, he had just assumed that there was no place for things like this in his life. Additionally, who would have ever wanted someone like him to be their friend?

And yet, there sat Midoriya, the very kid who had beaten him, (figuratively) offering his hand in friendship.

 _"Everyone just passed by, pretending not to see, thinking that some hero would save the day."  
"Who decided to make the world this way?"_

Tomura never had the chance to consider taking that hand before his hate took over again.

Where had this offer been all these months ago?  
Midoriya had never cared about him. He was so plain and boring and still, Tomura was jealous of him because of all the things he was and had: He didn't get looked at when walking down the street, he didn't go to bed remembering snippets of his life where he killed his own father because of his quirk, because he probably still had a family and friends. He was going to one of the best hero schools and having the time of his life and worst of all, he was supported by All Might and all of society.  
Midoriya Izuku had all the things Tomura never had and never would have. He didn't want those things, but who in the world had decided who got to have **_everything_** while he got **_nothing_**?

Today Midoriya was here, feeling sorry for the villain he himself had put in jail.  
No, Midoriya had never cared about Tomura, Midoriya only cared about what All Might thought of him.

Good for him because..

..Tomura didn't care for him either.

He stood up and before Midoriya could do the same, the taller villain threw himself onto the student and pushed him to the ground, holding him down by the wrists.  
Midoriya must have been shocked, because he hadn't reacted at all – from what Tomura remembered, his quirk relied heavily on physical strength. Not that Tomura was weak, his slender body only gave that impression, but he shouldn't have been able to hold Midoriya down that long.  
Still, he was going to use the time he had until Midoriya would beat the crap out of him, until the guards would storm the cell and drug him and All Might would be disappointed again and either visit him at the hospital or when he was strapped to a chair, because he had broken the rules. He had thrown away his last chance.

But he didn't care anymore! He wanted to kill this kid, to dig is nails into Midoriya's chest and tear out his lungs and heart. If All Might didn't want him anymore, Sensei would acknowledge him again. Right, right?!

"You think you're so smart, you little brat! I have long seen through your whole charade!"  
The guards would enter anytime soon.

"STOP! TOMURA! TO––!", it was All Might's voice he heard shouting through the speakers, suddenly cut off.

All Might?

The world around Tomura became black. He wasn't unconscious. What was happening?!

 _"Come here, Tenko!"_ , he turned around to see his father, standing there with a bottle in his hand. He was looking for him, looking to hurt him!

 _"Little Tenko, I won't hurt you!"_  
"LIAR!", Tomura screamed, "Get the fuck away from me!" But his father was getting closer and closer and Tomura had forgotten how much those slaps had hurt.

 _"You're a disgrace!"_

Tomura let go of Midoriya wrists, falling back onto his behind and holding his temples with shaking hands. Pain, pain, what was this pain suddenly shooting through his head?! He closed his eyes and opened them again, his father gone but his vision was too blurry to see anything. He didn't see Midoriya getting on his feet, storming to the exit. He didn't see that the door didn't open and he didn't see Midoriya waving and talking to the cameras without getting any reaction from Tartarus' guards or All Might.

"What is happening?!", Midoriya shouted and activated his quirk. He started punching the walls that didn't break and Midoriya was beginning to panic, but Tomura saw none of that.

There he was again, his father holding a belt in his hand.

"No more! Stop it! Please!", Tomura cried to the things in his head. His rips hurt like back then and Tomura embraced his upper body to protect himself from any more kicks.

"Stop! Please, daddy, stop!", he screamed at the man that he knew was not here. What was happening to him?

"Shigaraki!", he could faintly hear Midoriya calling his name, but he was so far away.

"Please..", he begged and cried but Shimura didn't stop and Tomura reached to decay him but there were his gloves, and –– no, no, no..!

All Might. He stood next to his father.

" _Why did you do it, Tomura? Why did you kill him?"_  
The next thing he saw was Midoriya's body turning to dust and Tomura looked down at his hands, both of them covered in blood.

"I didn't do it!", he screamed. He had wanted to kill him but he didn't do it! How could he have done it?

 _"Why did you do it, Tomura?"_ , it ripped Tomura's heart in half hearing the disappointment in the man's voice, like his biggest fear had just become reality.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

...

 **"Tomura."**

Tomura opened his eyes. His breath was heavy, his muscles strained and hurting and his cheeks wet from tears. He was looking up at the ceiling, realising that he was still in his cell. Had this all been a dream?

"Tomura.", the voice spoke again and Tomura stood up, his legs still shaky.

There he stood again: Sensei.  
This time however, he was real.

* * *

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** Thank you for reviewing again! Well, he kinda did but also didn't haha. We'll see what happens!

 **Answer to HankFlamion18 (user):** I am sorry I didn't write him as you wanted him to be : (( However you will be pleased to hear that I have a fluff scene with Kurogiri already planned : )) I didn't intend for him to be harsh, but believing in AFO's ideals and wanting the best for Tomura.  
Love the idea with the epilogue! Thank you for reviewing!


	13. Chapter XIII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XIII – DON'T LEAVE ME – PART I**

 ** _Around two weeks earlier_**

 _"–that various big fishes of the villainous underground could be caught thanks to the Japanese Criminal Investigation–"_ , the channel was changed to a publicity about a Japanese drama.

"Put that back, I wanted to see that!", Kirishima shouted over to Kaminari Denki, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa and dribbling over the cute high school girls appearing on the screen.

"Don't you dare changing the channel, Kaminari!", Mineta called but Iida had already taken the remote from Kaminari's hand, changing back to the news.

"What is wrong with all of you?!", Mineta cried but was ignored by his classmates, who's focus was now fully on the news.

Iida raised the volume: _"–ur responsible colleague has tried to get in touch with the people involved in the case, asking if there is any evidence supporting the rumour that a villain may have helped the police in their investigation. We will cut to him now."_

They cut from the news studio to the journalist, who was standing in front of what looked like a building of a police office.

" _According to some of the witnesses in the multiple cases of these past days, the police squads seem to always have appeared at the right place on the right time. This apparently with the help of a nebula portal, a quirk that's suspiciously similar to one of the former members of the League of Villains. Unfortunately, we were not able to talk to anyone of the JCID, but expect to hear more from us soon. Back to the studio."_

 _"Thank you for this clarification. We will stay on the case. Now to the weather. Tokyo pref–"_

While the others speculated about a possible cooperation between the police and the League of Villains, Bakugou Katsuki turned to look at Midoriya, who was sitting alone at one of the tables, not listening to the reporter or Mineta but chatting with someone on the phone. Bakugou wrinkled his nose; something wasn't right. The idiot Deku was usually very attentive of his surroundings but this past week, he had only had eyes for his phone or that crappy notebook he still brought with him every day since they were children.

"Yo, Bakugou! What are you looking at?" Hadn't Kirishima just been watching TV? Why couldn't this guy ever leave him alone?

 _Might as well just ask him what he thinks about it._

"Do you think Deku has been acting strange those past days?"  
Kirishima furrowed his eyebrows at the question and looked over to Midoriya. The dark-haired teen was too focused with what he was doing to notice that both of them were openly staring at him.

"Not really,", he looked back at Bakugou and grinned, baring his sharp teeth, "but he sure spends a lot of time working on that project of his!"

"The semester project?", Bakugou could smell that he was getting closer to something. He didn't know what exactly he was looking for, and this only made him more eager to find out: "Do you know what his project is?"

"Why the hell do _you_ care?", Kirishima answered his question with a question.

"None of your business, just answer me.", Bakugou tried to be patient but his friend had that bad habit to unnecessarily drag out everything.

"If you say so.", he didn't look offended by Bakugou not telling him why and crossed his arms behind his head before continuing, "Iida told me it's something about prisoners and rehabilitation. Apparently, he's even allowed to visit some guy."

 _JACKPOT!  
_ "Oh really?", Bakugou's surprise wasn't staged. Neither was his anger.

 _I FUCKING KNEW IT! These stupid motherfuckers are planning something and are leaving me out again!_

He noticed his clenched fists starting to emit smoke.

 _Calm down. I have no proof yet._

"Weird, right? I didn't know Midoriya was interested in that specific part of the hero-job. How is his quirk even suited for that? But I guess broaden your field of interests can never hurt."

 _Bad Hair sure likes to hear himself talk._ But Kirishima was right; Midoriya's quirk wasn't suited and as far as he knew, Midoriya had never shown interested in the topic of rehabilitation ever before.

He only cared because this whole project was about that Shigaraki-ass!

 _I fucking knew that idiot was acting weird!_ But now that he knew, what was he going to do about it? Was he just going to walk up to Freckles and force him to speak up?  
He briefly thought about snatching his phone, but Midoriya wasn't the weakling he used to be and though Bakugou was convinced, that he was still fairly stronger than his childhood friend, what was he going to do if he (though most unlikely) happened to be wrong? Embarrass himself in front of the whole class?  
And what if he found out that he had been right? He still wasn't going to be involved.

But if they were sharing secrets about One for All and whatnot, he wanted to be part of this too.

 _I will catch them on the spot. That will show them not to mess with me._

Bakugou would keep quiet and wait for the right opportunity. If Midoriya really was going to visit Shigaraki, he would too. Neither All Might nor stupid Deku had a say in this.

"Uhm..Bakugou?", Kirishima looked at him with a concerned face, "You have some evil on your face."

* * *

 ** _Present_**

"Are you alright, Tomura?", All for One was standing in front of him, his scarred face concealed and a mask helping him breath. Tomura had never seen the man dressed so casually and completely in white and it bothered him just like with Kurogiri. All for One looked like he had just come out of a hospital. Or out of a prison. The latter was a fact.

"Sensei..", Tomura managed to say through his heavy breathing, "What.. the hell.. was that?"

"A quirk. They have tried to torture me with it multiple times – in vain, of course. And now they have used it on you. I could stop it by breaking the cameras – apparently it only works if they quirk-holder is looking directly at someone."

Tomura brushed the strains of hair away from his sweating face. A quirk? What kind of dreadful quirk was that?!

 _They haven't used it on me before._ Why? Was it so inhuman that they had not been allowed to use it, not even on him?  
He felt the memories and the physical pain of this horror trip disappearing like the remains of a dream, but he was still shaking.

Why was it that after all these years, he could still not leave the hurt behind that his father had caused him? It was as if he could never let go; as if he was addicted to an abuser and his cruelty. Tomura still craved for Father to hold his face, to remember all the things that man had done to him, only to forget the pain again and to forgive him once more. It was a never ending vicious circle, part of why he had become who he was.

 _Because negative attention was still better than no attention, right? You're almost twenty-two years old and you're still thinking like a child._

"I assume you saw your biggest fears. What did you see?"

Tomura's lips parted, but he didn't speak and looked away in shame, instead looking around the cell, he almost choked: Midoriya was lying unconsciously on the floor, bruises all across his skin and he was bleeding out from his side.

"Wha–"

"He won't die right now, not if they manage to get an ambulance within the next half hour.", All for One interrupted him and waved his hand. The gloves on Tomura's hands fell off. Another quirk in All for One's collection?  
It didn't matter to Tomura in that moment: He raised his hands and stared at them like he had never seen them before.

Freedom. Freedom was so much closer now, ready for him to take it! There was no bigger desire inside his heart; he just wanted to get out of here for good.

"Kill him."

Tomura looked back at All for One, shock written across his face: "Please Sensei, we need to leave!"

The man didn't answer but stepped towards the younger villain, stopping less than three feet from his apprentice. Tomura was tall, but like with All Might, he had to look up to meet All for One's face when the man was so close.

"I am afraid I can't trust you right now."

"What?", Tomura's heartbeat sped up and that cold feeling of anxiety crawled over the skin of his bare arms and down his back.

"Your comrades are waiting outside for you to lead them again.", All for One grabbed the lad's shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace, something he had not done in a long time. It should have felt warm and familiar, not cold and foreign and deep down Tomura knew that he had distanced himself too much from All for One to appreciate it, but he just told himself that was simply being too anxious to enjoy it.

"The League is here..?", he whispered into All for One's shoulder.

"Yes. Tomura, I want nothing more than for you to be my successor.", All for One softly pushed the young man away, "I want you to redeem yourself."

Again with this? Had he not done enough?! Surely his Sensei had seen (or rather sensed) him attack the boy?

"Kill him. Then we can all go home."

Home.  
What even was home to him?  
Tomura turned to look at the U.A. student who was lying there, unconscious and not able to defend himself – completely at his mercy. He had wanted to kill him; he had wanted him to disappear, even going as far as to risk getting strapped onto a chair for the rest of his life just so he could get his revenge. Just so he could hit this society once again, this society that had made him this rotten.

" _Why did you do it, Tomura?"_ A shiver went down his spine at that snippet of his horror trip.

Tomura closed his eyes.

 _Home.  
_ What was he going to see in that darkness of his mind when thinking of that word?

Father hitting him again? – No, that wasn't home.

Kurogiri pouring him a drink at the bar hideout and bringing him back into his room, when he was too drunk to do it himself? Kurogiri accommodating him, when he was too hung over to do anything? Sensei putting a blanket around his fragile little body, while he was playing on the console? – Yes, that felt partly like home, but something was missing..

What about All Might bringing him books and brushing his hair? Or when he started playing those board games with him?

" _Why did you do it, Tomura? Why did you kill him?"_ , he then remembered the hallucinated All Might that had been so hurt, as well as himself, screaming that he had not done it.  
" _Why did you do it, Tomura?"  
_ " _Why did you do it, Tomura?"_ , the words echoed through his head, again and again and every time they did, it felt like someone punching his stomach and taking the wind out of his sails, robbing him of every goal and every purpose his life had (as if there were any left).

Midoriya had offered him his hand in friendship and he had rejected it.  
Rightfully so, he still didn't believe the kid to have been honest with him. But seeing All Might's disappointment, even if it had just been one of his own projections – hearing All Might's real voice shout his name through the speakers, demanding him to stop–

 _With my actions, I have hurt you more than society, All Might._ Isn't that exactly what he had always wanted?  
He weakly shook his head smiled to himself. _I am truly an idiot._

"You promised me, Tomura. Do it and I will make sure that you will never see the inside of any cell ever again.", All for One was standing behind him and Tomura couldn't help but feel like the man was a devil on his shoulder, persuading him to do the things he didn't want to do. The apprentice took a step forwards, then another and another, all of them slowly and careful as if he was hoping for someone or something to storm the cell and to stop him from committing another crime, another sin, another thing that made him lose himself even more.

He stopped about a step away from the teen and looked down at him: Midoriya Izuku looked devastated.

"I was angry with you at first.", his master gently patted his back, "I was sure you were ready to betray me, but I have done a lot of thinking."

 _I have never betrayed you, Sensei._ Not even in his secrets thoughts when he imagined living under All Might's wings, had he ever thought about selling out his teacher or his comrades. It wasn't in his nature.

"Everyone in your position would have done the same. They have isolated you, they have drugged and humiliated you. You would have been stupid not to take All Might's help."

"Why do you know all this?", Tomura asked without leaving Midoriya out of his sight.

"Haven't you ever asked yourself, who your lawyer was?" Why did his whole situation look like his master was pulling the strings again?  
Tomura frowned and started to think about the people that were always prowling around All for One like hungry cats. Someone from the Union? No, not close enough to entrust them with his 'Golden Boy', as the League would call him. But who else could it be? It must have been someone that wasn't known to the public. Someone with at least some kind of diploma in legal studies.

"The doctor.", it was so obvious now that he knew.

"Very well, Tomura.", All for One was pleased and wrapped Tomura's pale hair around his fingers, "I have prepared for everything. I am not immortal and as everyone could see, not invincible either."

He let go of his student's hair and started to walk around Tomura and Midoriya: "How foolish would I have been, had I not taken care of the problem on how to get any valuable information, should I ever get imprisoned here. You know Tomura, they have all kinds of techniques to check on the people getting in and out, but they are so fixated on details, they don't even see the forest for the trees."

"It was an easy task for the doctor to give all needed information to my lawyer, who just used his own quirk to inform me about everything. I didn't even need to use my own and no scanner would every notice."

Of course All for One had taken care of everything and it showed Tomura once again, that Sensei was just on another level, one he could never reach.

"And who do you think approved of the documents for a hero in training to visit someone in Tartarus?"

"The lawyers of the Union."

All for One stopped behind him: "Such a good child. My followers are everywhere, Tomura. And soon, they are all to be yours. But enough talk, my quirk won't hold them away much longer. Let's get this over with."

" _Why did you do it, Tomura?"_ , All Might speaking again. Why couldn't he just shut up?! All of this would be so much easier if had just stayed away!

"Kill him now."

 _You knew this day would come, Tomura! Do it! It's the only way to survive!_ Tomura clenched his fists and bit his lip, delving inside of his mind and his heart, searching for that anger that had always been his only friend throughout his life. He let himself fall on his knees and reached for Midoriya's arm.

The boy wasn't even going to feel it, so why did he care so much?

 _This is not about him, this is about All Might._

He could feel Midoriya's long skin already, his middle finger touching the arms first, followed by his ring and pointing finger.

 _As master said, just get this over with. You will never be one of them._ Tomura felt a sting in his heart at that thought. His pinkie was now feeling the cold skin too; one finger left.

Then, a blinding light.

 ** _"So, your name is Tenko?"_** , a female voice asked him.

A wave of memories washed over Tomura and he saw her, a grown woman with long black hair tied into a bun and grey eyes, long lashes and a mark on her chin, the same spot like Tomura's. She was tall and she looked confident and strong.

And she was beautiful, at least in Tomura's eyes.

First it was her standing on a building and watching the sunset with another man, a guy reminding him of that old one that had attacked him at Kamino and had even visited him once.

Then it was her on a winter day, talking to a blonde teen clothed in black. Tomura couldn't see his face but the hair gave it all away; All Might, years younger than Tomura was, probably more than twenty years ago.

The next moment it was her, fighting with All for One on a battlefield that looked even worse than Kamino.  
 _"I leave the rest to you!"_

 ** _"My name is Nana. It feels like my heart is about to burst, knowing that you exist, Tenko."_**

Tomura let go of Midoriya's arm as if he had burnt himself on it, falling back against All for One's legs, holding his head and instinctively raising his middle fingers as to not decay himself.  
 _"My master. Shimura Nana. Teacher. One for All. Toshinori. It's your turn. Sorahiko. All Might.."_ , the words followed him back into reality.

 _WHAT THE FUCK!_

"Ah, I can hear my little brother's voice."

Midoriya. Midoriya had inherited All for One.  
 _"–I made a promise to your grandmother-"  
_ All Might's teacher. The woman he had seen in his vision. The seventh holder of One for All.

At that realization, Tomura got on his feet, facing his master with confusion and new rage: "One for All! She was a wielder of One for All! I saw her fighting you! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"My patience is at an end, Shigaraki Tomura. Do what I asked you to do and let's get out of here."

The younger villain began to shake again and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

 _No. This can't be. This must surely be a coincidence._

All Might had told him his grandmother had been a hero, but..

"Sensei.", his voice was quiet but firm, "Did you target her and.. my family.. did you target them because of One for All?"

All for One did not move or speak and that already was enough answer to Tomura, but he wanted, no, he _needed_ to hear it.

"Did you kill Shimura Nana?"

All for One slapped him across the face so hard it smacked Tomura to the ground. The younger villain touched his pulsating cheek in disbelief and stared at the man who looked visibly furious, even with his face hidden.

"How dare you speak that name in my presence?"

 _I don't care if I was only a tool to you, Sensei._

 _You saved me when the heroes didn't._

 _But if she died because of One for All, if I really was only a tool for you just to get back at All Might, then..  
_ "Then my family had to die because of that too?", Tomura noticed he was bleeding from his gums and the taste of iron was filling his mouth.

"You killed them with your own ha-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK I MEAN!", the younger villain interrupted his master and got back on his feet. It seemed impossible to stay calm and to focus, he was so _pissed_.

The walls around them vibrated; they needed to get out of here. All for One's quirk (a barrier?) was already weakening and Tomura could hear people trying to break through the door, but the urge to lay those cursed hands of his onto All for One face was stronger than the urge to escape.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!"

"Everything I did was for you, Shigaraki Tomura. I don't mind if you hate me, do it all you want; fuel yourself with anger and become a weapon."

Tomura's eyes became wide, and something in his brain switched: suddenly, all his instincts warned him of a coming danger he would not be able to handle alone and told him to run. He searched for an exit, remembering that his hands were free to use his quirk.  
The young man jumped towards the next wall, his fingers spread and ready to decay his way out of here.

But he never reached it, his body stopping midair when All for One's forcible quirk activation spikes pierced his chest.

"Right now however, you have become too dangerous for me to keep around. You were like a son to me and no father takes joy in punishing his children. But this needs to be done."  
Tomura couldn't hear his Master speaking, his own screams drowning every other sound. In his mind, he begged his teacher to stop whatever he was doing, not able to take the pain. It wasn't the spikes drilling through his body that hurt him so much; it was something else and it felt like a part of his being was taken away from him.

Tomura bit down on his tongue. _PLEASE LET ME PASS OUT!_

After what felt like minutes, but had probably only been a few seconds, All for One retrieved his spikes and let his apprentice fall to the ground. The fall hurt but was nothing against the pain in his upper body. He coughed out the blood and moaned because of that piercing feeling that shot through his chest whenever he moved.

"You will come crawling back to me once you realize that _they_ don't want you, Shigaraki Tomura. Until then, I have taken your quirk.", All for One sighed, "I am disappointed with you. The doctor won't take care of you this time; see this as a punishment – or an opportunity to learn."

"Sen..sei.", Tomura tried to speak and coughed. He couldn't see his master, his vision was too blurry. If Tomura had not known what fear was, he definitely knew now.

Warm tears wet his cheeks. Was his master going to leave him here?

 _I don't want to die here!_

"Please..don't leave..I'll be good.", he managed to choke out before the world became black.

A warp gate opened for the Symbol of Evil to disappear.

"Kurogiri."

"What about Shigaraki Tomura, Sensei?", there was concern in Kurogiri's voice.

"We will come back.", assured him and stepped into the gate.

"What about Midoriya Izuku?"

All for One turned to look at the boy: "He is already dead."

* * *

 **Answer to HankFlamion18 (user):** There really was something with the car *haha* - and yup, panic attacks and hallucinations but because of quirk. Thank you for sticking with this story! Love every review you leave!

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond (user):** Yes, I want too! But first a bit more hurt and pain! Thank you for another review, dear!


	14. Chapter XIV

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XIV – DON'T LEAVE ME – PART II**

 ** _Fuchou prison, a few weeks ago_**

"Did he say something about Twice?", Mr. Compress asked, leaning against the wall of the prison's meeting hall.

"No. As I said, he just said we need to prepare ourselves and that Kurogiri will come and take us on a Friday."

"On which Friday exactly? And how is Kurogiri going to take us, isn't he imprisoned in Tartarus as well? Are you sure you didn't just dream all of this?"  
Dabi didn't look too fond of Spinner questioning his credibility. They had been imprisoned for almost half a year now and the villains were getting annoyed of each other. Dabi was especially moody – you couldn't even ask him a question without pissing him off.

"I didn't fucking dream, you lizard. He assured me that he used that quirk to communicate with Shigaraki and Kurogiri as well. If you were ever going to trust me, trust me _now_."

Spinner shrugged and looked around the hall. The other prisoners never talked to them. He had expected at least one or two wanting to challenge the followers of Shigaraki Tomura's League of Villains, but their reputation preceded them. And Spinner had been fine with that.

"What about Toga?", it was Mr. Compress speaking now (although he was just Atsuhiro Sako in here, Spinner still called him by his alias). He had never gotten quite used to seeing the magician without his outfit and his mask.

"He didn't say anything about crazy girl either.", Dabi answered and passed his hand through the black dyed mane. After six months, the roots of his naturally burning red hair were visible by more than two and a half inches. Neither Spinner nor Mr. Compress had ever touched on the subject: if Dabi wanted to the world to know why he dyed his hair, he would tell them himself.  
It could have been a fashion statement; it could have been because of the zombie aesthetic. Or it could have been – and to Spinner, this was the most likely option – because he resembled Endeavor a lot. But why Dabi would care about that? He realized, and not for the first time, that none of them really knew anything about the guy.

"Did he say something about Shigaraki other than that they were communicating with each other?"

Dabi sighed and shook his head: "Not really. Well yeah, kind of: He said to trust Kurogiri, no matter what happens."

"He isn't the leader.", Spinner objected. He liked Kurogiri more than Shigaraki, mainly because he was calm, collected and because like himself, he seemed to have a sense of justice. But Kurogiri wasn't the boss; he was completely devoted to Shigaraki and he was not going to listen to any of them. So why did this All for One guy think this was a good idea?

"I know, but what choice do we have? If what you told me about this old man's powers is true, then he is our key to getting out of here. And if Shigaraki really was his apprentice, he will make sure to get him out of there as well."  
Right. Dabi had never really met All for One before, being unconscious back at the hideout when Shigaraki's master had saved them.

"He _did_ help us at Kamino.", Mr. Compress added as if had just read Spinner's mind, but the lizard-man remained unconvinced. He couldn't help but feel pathetic that the League of Villains, once so feared in all the land with people admiring them like idols, was now relying on the help of someone that was imprisoned himself.

Dabi was right however; what other choice did they have?

"Fine, I may not like it, but you're right. Let's do it his way."

* * *

 ** _Present_**

"Damn it, Bakugou! Can you just get off me already? You're breaking my spine with your weight."

"Shut the fuck up, Bad Hair and get us the hell out of here!", Bakugou kicked around and was sure to have hit Kirishima's face.

"Stop moving, man.", Kirishima pushed Bakugou's boot out of his face, "You should really change your name to 'King Explosion Temper'."

"Close that damned mouth of yours for just a fucking minute and open the car!" The way Bakugou had been cramped in this car's trunk for the last one and a half hours really must have been the most uncomfortable thing he had ever done in his life. Additionally, he had to bring the idiot along, as if the place had not been tight enough already. Whatever had he been thinking asking Kirishima to come along?

"Why don't you open it yourself? The release cable should be somewhere above your head."

"How the fuck should I know where that stupid cable is?! Do I look like a mechanic to you?!"

"Just let me–", Kirishima tried to turn the other way and reached forwards but the only thing he managed to do, was to push his fingers into Bakugou's nose, wearing the blonde's last nerve, "Hold on, I'll try–"

"JUST OPEN THE DAMN CAR, YOU IDIOT!", Bakugou screamed and punched his friend on the head.

"Alright, alright. Calm down."

The rays of sunshine lightened the inside of the trunk when Kirishima used his quirk, hardening the skin on his right arm into spikes to drill hole after hole into the coachwork of All Might's (rented) car.

"You know, you could have used your quirk too. Why do I have to do all the work?", he whined while working on that opening.

"We're in a fucking car, you smartass. What do you think will happen if I use my quirk?"

"Well, you don't have to use your whole power.", was all Kirishima said and he continued drilling the metal.

Once the hole was big enough for them to exit, Bakugou pushed the red-haired teen aside, exiting first. Outside, he took a deep breath of fresh hair and immediately smelled the saltiness in it. He turned around to get a good look of where they were.

They were on an island, with a bridge connecting it with the main land.  
But they were so far away, he could barely see the skyscrapers of Tokyo.

No, there weren't any skyscrapers there.  
So did that mean they weren't in Tokyo anymore? It would have made sense after a ride of more than one and a half hours.

Kirishima climbed out of the truck and stretched his limbs: "That was horrible. Please don't make me do that ever again."

"Just shut up." Really, why had Bakugou thought it was a good idea to bring him along?!

They both then faced the giant dark grey walls towering before them, built from cement and metal and emitting an enormously fearful aura. Bakugou would have never thought that a prison could make him so uncomfortable. Even Kirishima, who was always optimistic and cheerful, was intimidated by the construction.

 _How must Deku have felt seeing this?_

He shook his head. _He probably wasn't even looking! That idiot! Always writing in that damn journal of his!_

Although Bakugou couldn't care any less about Shigaraki's well-being, he also wondered how the villain must have felt seeing this giant thing and knowing, that he would spend the rest of his life in there.  
Bakugou couldn't deny it: He imagined it must have been a horrid imagination – and briefly, he even felt something like compassion. Though it was a fleeting feeling.

"Bakugou? Where the heck are we?", so not even this thing could get Kirishima to shut his mouth for a minute.

"Tartarus."

"'Tartarus'?! Did you just say 'Tartarus'?", Kirishima grabbed Bakugou by the shoulders, shaking an answer out of him.

"Yeah.", Bakugou answered in a surprisingly calm tone, his whole presence was suddenly like in trance, "And Deku is here."  
Remembering Broccoli Hair excluding him again, he snarled and clenched his fists: "I knew it. That stupid son of a bitch."

Kirishima let go of Bakugou: "So Midoriya's here. Fine, I still don't get it. Would you mind telling me what we're doing here? I couldn't hear shit in that trunk!"  
But Bakugou didn't answer, he just kept staring at those giant walls in front of them.

"Bakugou.", his classmate waved a hand in front of his face, "Are you there?"

"Eh...?"

"What exactly are we doing? Don't tell me Midoriya is visiting someone in _here_?"

There was no point in hiding it anymore.

"I don't care about what you're doing but I am going to break Deku's face.", he murmured but apparently, that had not been enough explanation, because Kirishima was still looked confused, "Do I have to spell it for you? He's visiting that freak!"

"What the hell are you talk–", his friend's voice broke. Red eyes became wide and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he found his voice again: "You can't be serious? You mean Shigaraki?! _Him_? Why?!"

"Because of All Might! You really think the guy visited that creep at the hospital for some investigation shit? How dumb are you?"

Kirishima scratched the back of his head: "Nah, that always seemed a bit strange to me, but I didn't really look into it that much, you know? But of course you would. Your bond with All Might is more.. _special_ than ours."

Although Kirishima had not meant it that way, it still hit Bakugou full force to remember that _he_ had been the cause for All Might to step down as a hero. After that day at Kamino, everything had changed for the number one, for Midoriya and for him.

For Shigaraki too. But who gave a really gave a shit about that guy anyway?

 _All Might obviously gives a shit about him._

"Well, what are we going to do about it? Wait until they get back so you can kick Midoriya's ass? Because I sure as hell ain't going back into that trunk with you."

Before Bakugou could even consider beating the crap out of Kirishima for that remark, an ear-splitting alarm resounded, followed by an explosion in one of the towers.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT! THAT FUCKING BASTARD! COME ON, KIRISHIMA!"

"What the he–! Wait for me!"

* * *

All had happened so quickly.

The moment Tomura had attacked Midoriya, All Might had felt all the joy and happiness inside his heart being drained from him.

Not only had the whole progress he had made with Tomura been for nothing, not only had he been completely wrong regarding Nana's grandson, but he had even gone as far as bringing a student – _his own apprentice!_ – into this mess: It had been _him_ who had asked Midoriya's own **_mother_** , Aizawa and the school principal to _sign_ an official document for the boy to enter a cell with one Japan's most dangerous criminals. And then the worst case scenario had become reality.  
Why had All Might not trusted his own gut feeling?! He should have had just stopped the whole thing the moment the guard had told him to wait outside.

 _Damn it, damn it!_

But there had been no time to waste on thinking about what had or had not gone as planned. All Might had stormed towards the desk, shouting into the microphone and ordering Tomura to stop.  
What had happened next had been like something out of a movie – something out of a nightmare.

Suddenly, all cameras and microphone had just short circuit, as had the electrical locks of every single cell. Even the lights had gone out for a few seconds. They had come back on quickly, not the cameras however; they were broken and All Might's uncertainty about Midoriya's well-being had forced him to run out of the room and to Tomura's cell. The guards positioned before it had been dead. Had Tomura killed them?  
Multiple guards had decided on following him, only for them to find out that it wasn't possible to open the door! The cell had always been kept unlocked when someone was in there – security measures – so why wasn't it possible to open it now?!

 _No, no, no! Damn it!_

Next, an alarm had resounded through the halls of the high security prison (was it even right calling it 'high security' anymore at this point?).

"That's from prisoner 8540, Kurogiri!", one of the guards that had been pulling on the heavy door together with All Might, had shouted to the other men behind them and they had all prepared themselves for battle by either activating their quirks or drawing a weapon.

All of Tartarus had been in an uproar at that point.

Then another alarm had gone off, its sound so shrill All Might had let go of the door and had to close his ears off with his hands. The alarm had been so loud it was nauseating, but he somehow managed to ignore it and continued to his work.

Now he was here, trying to open that damned door he had been standing before so many times these past months.

The little window he used to look through before he had entered was covered in blood, making it impossible for them to know what was going on in there. When a guard tried to break it with what looked like a drill-like quirk, the scream of their own men getting burned to a crisp made them stop what they were doing and turn to face their attacker.

"Woah, I can't believe All Might is here too! 'The hell are you _doing_?"

The former pro hero knew that voice from somewhere. At the other end of this level's floor stood a figure he had last met at Kamino: It was that Dabi kid from the League of Villains! But if he was here, that could only mean..

"The League of Villains is here!"  
"Alarm to all hero agencies nearby immediately and get some medics!"  
"This is a prison break!"  
Everyone was shouting every which way and All Might found it hard to focus. But his number one priority was clear: To save Midoriya.

He ignored the young villain and turned back to the door, continuing to fidget with it until a guard pushed him aside, both of them falling to the ground while the metal and cement of the door as well as the wall around it engulfed in a blue flame, virtue of Dabi who still stood on the same spot, grinning wide and with his hands on his hips.

"Man, you really have become boring, All Might."

All Might knew better than getting mocked by some villain hatchling.

"Then why don't you just look for a different challenge?", he stood up and two guards positioned themselves in front of him for protection. His attention went always back to that door that was separating him and Midoriya and that was now too hot to touch. He needed someone with a water or cooling quirk, now!

"I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, we need our leader back."

 _Tomura._ Would Tomura still lead them?

 _He won't be leading anyone ever again!_

About five other guards attacked Dabi all at once, some of them with their quirks, others who All Might assumed were quirkless, shot with their guns. He had been a hero a long enough to know that Dabi, even though he was a good fighter with an immensely strong quirk, wouldn't stand a chance against so many of them, especially in close combat. Once he lost the advantage of distance, the battle was over.  
Tartarus' guards were not the street thugs he usually fought; they were trained soldiers, even the quirkless ones. All Might was convinced the lad was going to retreat and effectively, a warp gate opened behind him. The kid let himself fall into that purple-black hole that closed and disappeared before any of the guards could reach it.

"Watch out! They could reappear anywhere!"  
"Damn it! We are losing time!"

Furthermore, an even bigger explosion than the one in the towers made the whole construction shake. It felt like an earthquake and All Might lost his balance and fell. Looking up, he saw cement dust falling from the roof like fresh snow on a winter morning.

 _Snow. Winter. Nana._

"We need someone to cool this door!", All Might got back on his feet and shouted over to the other men. Fleetingly, he even thought about using his own strength to break the walls, but Gran Torino had warned him that if he tried to use One for All one more time, it might cost him his life.

He didn't care for his life however, he needed to save Midoriya, but who said they weren't going to need his help once the walls were down?

"Is no one here who can help me with this door?!", All Might was beginning to lose hope.

The memories of all the moments he had spent together with his apprentice rushed into his mind. How he had met him, how Midoriya had saved Bakugou from that green slime monster and how many bones the boy had broken before finally learning how to control his own powers.  
 _Young Midoriya! Please, please, stay alive! I don't– I can't lose you!_

It would take valuable minutes for the cell door to cool down and they just didn't have time on their side!  
Everything was in too much chaos; All Might couldn't hear or see what was happening on the other floors, but once the speakers seemed to work again, all the people in the building were informed about explosions and fights all in and around the prison.

Not only was whole League of Villains here, but other criminals too. Where had they all come from? And if that wasn't enough, they seemed to be interested in freeing other prisoners as well:  
"Prisoner 4584 'Moonfish' has escaped!"  
"Prisoner 3319 'Muscular' has escaped!"  
"Prisoner 1122 'Hero Killer Stain' has escaped!"

Could this get any worse?  
 _Don't lose hope! Midoriya is counting on you!_

A group of men came running towards him and the others. One of them had an ice-like quirk, able to cool the metal but it still wouldn't bulge. All Might then finally crushed that blood-stained little windows and stared into the cell, but couldn't see anything from that angle.  
All together, they then attacked the walls of the cell and finally, _finally_ , they started to shake. At this point, All Might was sure that someone was strengthening them with a barrier-like quirk, otherwise they would have already fallen. But the guards needed to be quicker: with Kurogiri's warp gate at their service, there was almost no place the villains couldn't go.

"Keep going, we're almost there!", he motivated the men. While one transformed his arms into strong hammers, the other used his metal claws to scratch away the cement like an excavator. They may not have properly trained their own quirks like the students at U.A., but they were still giving it their all!

Speak of the devil..

"GET OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!"

 _No._ Was this who he thought it was?

"MOVE, YOU COWARDS!", that voice that was coming closer screamed again.

 _No, no, no!_

"Y'all better make way for KING EXPLOSION TEMPER!"

 _Not him too!_

"Who in the hell–", one of the guards that had been working on that door turned around to the shouting that even drowned both of the shrilling alarms.

 **"I said..  
..MOVE!"**

An explosion so bright it blinded All Might he took cover! This time it was caused by Bakugou using his quirk to blow away the door and with it, some of those thick walls. The cement crumbled down before them. A cloud of dust and smoke made it hard to breathe and everyone coughed, putting their hands in front of their face as a filter.

As soon as All Might could see again, he looked at Bakugou's destruction: The way was free.

The man took a step forwards and noticed that he was feeling dizzy. For a second, he just forgot about Bakugou and Kirishima and about how they had granted themselves access into a prison full of dangerous villains. Unauthorized. But thank goodness they did.  
He wasn't angry – he would have to thank them for that later on.

But first..

 _Midoriya._

All Might climbed over the broken blocks of cement, ripping holes in his pants and his palms, but he didn't care.

 _Midoriya. Midoriya._

He had to save Midoryia!

Slowly the flying dust settled. Water splashed out of the broken sink and both of the alarms shut off.

All Might felt as if his own heart stopped beating as he saw Tomura, laying on his back and bleeding from his mouth. The red liquid was all over his chin and on his throat and was just horrible to look at.  
Behind him laid Midoriya and the boy looked way worse: he was bleeding from his side and was covered in cuts and bruises – injuries that Tomura had caused him.

 _What have I done?  
What have I done?!_

From this moment on, All Might had just felt like in a dream; even though after all these years of being a pro hero, he should have been used to pictures like this.

 _It's different this time._

His vision was blurry, he could still talk but everything went slow and fast at the same time. _Am I really dreaming?_

"Deku..?", it was Bakugou who spoke. The teen had stepped next to him, looking at the two figures laying there. He walked up to Midoriya and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him.  
"Fucking Deku, answer me!", his voice was filled with so much sadness and the blonde teen didn't even try to hide it.

Upon receiving no answer, Bakugou placed Midoriya back to the ground and looked over to Tomura and then grabbed him by the collar of his black shirt, receiving no reaction.

"YOU BASTARD!", Bakugou shouted at Nana's grandson and raised his fist. His hand remained in the air for a few seconds and even in his dizzy state, All Might could see that Bakugou was shaking, contemplating if he really should go ahead.  
The fist then did its job, repeatedly punching Tomura in the face, successfully breaking his nose and his jaw.  
"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Bakugou, stop it!", All Might ordered the kid but put no effort in on actually holding him back. It was Kirishima who snatched Bakugou's wrists and surprisingly, the young hero did not fight his friend.

Wait, was Bakugou crying? Yes, yes he was.

A few minutes later, the medics as well as the pro heroes arrived at Tartarus. All Might didn't even realise that he was led away from Midoriya and Tomura.

Later on, the only good things All Might remembered from that day was, that Midoriya had been alive (barely) and put into an artificial coma for his own safety.  
The League of Villains including Kurogiri and – as All Might later would find out – All for One, had escaped Tartarus, leaving Tomura behind. Why? Who knew, maybe because Bakugou had caused their rescuing plan to fail?  
Bakugou and Kirishima had been asked to accompany the police forces back to their office on the main land and they had done as asked. Kirishima had put an arm around the crying Bakugou's shoulder, comforting him on their way out.

And Tomura.. no, not Tomura and not Tenko. Shigaraki.

Shigaraki had been handcuffed on the spot with ten men guarding him until the whole situation was under control again. All Might assumed he would be brought back to the villain hospital for his nose, jaw and other injuries to be treated and eventually.. he would be put into a cell, strapped to a chair and isolated for the rest of his life.

This was his last time All Might was going to visit Shigaraki Tomura.

* * *

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** YESKACHANN IS HERE! Aaaaand..I can't reveal too much yet! Love love love to you for leaving another review, dear!


	15. Chapter XV

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XV – DON'T LEAVE ME – FINALE**

Shigaraki Tomura's room would be guarded all day all around.  
It would not have any windows but a single door for the doctors and the nurses to enter. Multiple guards would be positioned in front of that door and no one would be allowed to enter alone unless they were a lawyer or had an official permit. But Kurogiri would not need a door to get to All for One's student: His was a rare and a powerful quirk, the reason the police had wanted to make a deal with him in the first place. Fortunately, it was no secret in which villain hospital Shigaraki Tomura was being kept and if it had been, with all these contacts of the Union, it would have been an easy task to find out.

The prison break was all over the news; understandably, since the attack had only occurred a bit more than a day before. Although Sensei's apprentice had not been part of the prison break, voices all over Japan demanded justice for the killed guards and for a student, who had been hurt in the process and whose name had been concealed to protect him and his family. Kurogiri of course knew which student the land talked about: Midoriya Izuku, Shigaraki Tomura's very opposite in every regard.

It had only been a few hours since he had told All for One that the child had survived.  
 _"What a nuisance, but it was to be expected from All Might's chosen one."_ Sensei had not been concerned with that, waving Kurogiri away.

The black mist peaked around the corner: As expected, the guards were standing in front of the door, talking to each other, currently five of them. In a fight, Kurogiri would not have stood a chance and flight would have been his only option: But he didn't intend on fighting. Since his quirk was coordinate-based, he couldn't have opened a direct portal to the prisoner's room, but now that he knew where Shigaraki Tomura's room was, nothing stood in his way.

He didn't have much time and he knew that All for One would not approve of him being here. Once he got back, Sensei would ask him where he had been and Kurogiri, as always, would tell him the truth. What kind of punishment would await him? Would the man take away his quirk, too? Or would he just wave his hand again and forget it? Most of the time, All for One was unreadable.

Shigaraki Tomura's room was small and as empty as it could be. There were no medical instruments, no furniture and not even a bathroom. The light was faint and unnatural and as Kurogiri had predicted, there were no windows. It was just a square room with a villain in it, basically a prison cell inside a hospital.

His Master's apprentice was either asleep or still unconscious; Kurogiri wasn't going to check on it.  
The young man was tied to the bed with everything the hospital seemed to have had at their disposal: handcuffs, zip ties, cords and belts.

At least, they had treated his injuries. One bandage supported his jaw by being tied around his head, the other was holding his nose. His cheeks and the skin around his eyes were bloodshot; the pale colour had turned all blue and purple. Someone had let out all his anger onto the young villain's face, likely after Kurogiri and the League had left. There were also a few band-aids here and there on his arms and his neck, but other than that, Shigaraki Tomura looked well.

He had experienced worse, back when Sensei had trained him..

The youth was clean, not a single grain of dust lay on his skin. His hair was a bit curlier than usual and it held more volume than Kurogiri remembered, usually a sign that it had been blow-dried. The fingernails were cut and even his dry lips had been moisturized and looked way better than any other time Kurogiri could remember.

 _They want him dead. Yet they are still treating him as a human._

 _Why?_

Kurogiri wanted to take Shigaraki Tomura with him, but Sensei wouldn't allow it. He trusted their leader and still, it felt wrong just leaving the successor here.  
What for? What was All for One trying to accomplish with this punishment? Kurogiri believed the only thing they managed to do with this, was pushing Shigaraki Tomura further away.  
He was already an unstable person as it was. Yes, he was extremely intelligent and comprehensive, but so naive and childish and.. he needed guidance. And now, he had been pushed aside by both heroes and villains.

Shigaraki Tomura had never been one that easily forgot.

All for One was a smart man: how could he think any of this was a good idea? How would this tighten Shigaraki Tomura's wishes and goals, wouldn't it just confuse him? Or did All for One think that just because the boy was smart, that Shigaraki Tomura was going to think the same way as him and see all of this as a lesson to learn and grow as to become a more ideal successor?

 _"He was already born twisted."_ Whatever that meant.

Kurogiri stepped closer to the hospital bed and reached for the younger villain's hand, taking it in his. His fingers were so skinny and.. ice cold. Quickly, Kurogiri closed his other hand around them and warmed them up. Sensei's protégé was a light sleeper and would have already woken up at the touch, unless he really had been unconscious and not asleep. Or simply drugged.

After the young man's hand had reached a lukewarm temperature, Kurogiri took his other hand and did the same again.

"Shigaraki Tomura, please get well soon.", he whispered and lay his finger onto the burning forehead of the successor. This sort of affection by anyone else than Sensei, would normally get Shigaraki Tomura's deathly hands reaching for him. He was more dangerous than people gave him credit for, but he had changed after All Might.  
If what All for One had told Kurogiri was true, his student had become quite accustomised to All Might visiting him, to the point where he had returned an embrace and thanked him.

But then, the prison break had happened.

 _"Trust me when I say that All Might will never want you for who you truly are."_ Kurogiri had been right about Shimura Nana and about All Might. They had all left him behind!  
He wasn't even trying to justify his own action of not telling Shigaraki Tomura about his family, he absolutely didn't see how it would benefit him knowing. Then, Kurogiri remembered how the leader of the League had _begged_ him to speak up.  
It had gotten more to him than the mist man would have thought.

He found himself thinking back to when the kid had been so much younger..

He had seen firsthand how many times Shigaraki Tomura had been tempted to put his own hands around his neck.  
Kurogiri had been the one to listen when the young man had been too drunk to realize he was babbling about his most inner thoughts and feelings, about that darkest corner of his heart, the place where he hid all of his secrets.  
Kurogiri had been the one to comfort him whenever Sensei had been disappointed with him.  
Kurogiri had been the one watching over him, when he became sick.  
Kurogiri had been the one tending his wounds, when the little boy had finished training.

So much of Shigaraki Tomura was a mask; behind it, a child who had just been searching for a home and someone to love him.

The years had rode on, one year merging into another, and another.. with a small boy All for One had first called 'Shimura Tenko', growing into the young man who called himself––

Kurogiri warped himself back to the League of Villains new hide out when he heard the door click.

* * *

A week passed with All Might spending every single day at young Midoriya's bed.

Due to the heavy injury at his side, which had affected his spleen, his stomach and part of his large intestine, the medics had put All Might's apprentice into a deep sleep – an artificial coma. Midoriya had also lost a lot of blood and suffered multiple bruises all over his body, which had thankfully not been as grave as the injury on his side. The doctors had assured All Might that Midoriya was going to be fine, but that the coma was necessary for his body to fully concentrate on healing. Any additional influence, be it on his mind or flesh, would only prolong the whole healing process, which was why the sleeping Midoriya didn't need to know on what had happened on the island prison for the time being, so the doctor had asked All Might not to talk about neither that or Shigaraki. Instead, All Might kept reading out of his school books, told him stories of his own youth and about Gran Torino and his teachers. Whenever he ate, which was rarely these days, he let the boy take in the smell of it, reminding him that a meal would await him whenever the doctors decided to wake him up. Sometimes, he would just take Midoriya's hand and warm it, trying to hold back his own tears and not to break down. All Might had never felt as weak as he did now. It had all been his fault.

His mother had visited her son five times this week. She had a lot to do around the house, but All Might knew that she had tried to come whenever possible. Midoriya Inko had not seemed angry with All Might – or the school for that matter –, her focus solely on her son getting better before anything else.

The doctors had informed her and All Might that they would initiate the recovery phase after around four to five weeks, meaning that if he had been already asleep for a week and that if everything went well, Midoriya would be awake in a bit more than a month. His mother had seemed optimistic after that, which had not stopped her from crying every time she came here, but who could blame her? It was her own child that was laying there..

Midoriya's classmates had visited him as well. Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, Kirishima and Yaoyorozu and Asui had come every day after school to stay with Midoriya for about half an hour before leaving again. All Might didn't know what they spoke about with their friend: He would always leave the room and give them some time alone. They never asked him on what had happened and he assumed, that Aizawa had told them to leave the subject alone.

Later in the evening, Bakugou would visit Midoriya as well, all by himself.  
Because he didn't want All Might to leave, they both spent those thirty minutes in silence before the blonde kid would leave and return again the next day.  
Bakugou had never been inherently evil, but a young man who was not able to properly express his feelings. Now that Midoriya was able to handle him, they had become true friends – still rivals – but friends nonetheless and Bakugou truly cared about his well-being.

On the eighth day, police detective, officer and one of his best friends, Tsukauchi Naomasa entered the hospital room of Midoriya and asked All Might to follow him outside.

"How are you?", the man began in a low voice while doctors, nurses and patients passed by them.

All Might leaned against the door and sighed: "Not so good. I have hardly slept this week. Those visitor beds are really uncomfortable.."

"I know it's not because of the bed, don't try to fool me! You're blaming yourself for what happened.", Tsukauchi grabbed All Might's shoulder and lightly shook him up, making the blonde meet his eyes.

"Wouldn't you? It's _was_ my fault."

The detective shook his head: "No, it wasn't. Trust me, I spoke with the responsible guards; even they were sure Shigaraki was at a point where he shouldn't have attacked Midoriya."

Well, they had all obviously been wrong.

"Anyway, that's not exactly what I am here for.", Tsukauchi said and let go of All Might, then looked around suspiciously, as to make sure no one was listening in on them before whispering again, "Shigaraki is awake."

All Might gulped but didn't say anything, not trusting his own tongue. Why was Tsukauchi telling him this? All Might hadn't planned on going to see the villain anytime soon.

"He's actually been awake for six days now and he's in good health. His broken nose and jaw will be fixed in no time but.. he won't really speak to anyone. He's been specifically asking for _you_."  
All Might didn't know what to feel at those words. He didn't allow himself to feel happy for Shigaraki's call – the villain had caused too much harm to receive another chance.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Tsukauchi looked around again: "Is there a place we could talk?"

Up on the roof, the wind was still chilly for a spring day, making All Might close his jacket as he followed his friend over to the railing. They were not allowed to be up here (what if at that right moment a rescue helicopter would land on top of their head?), but Tsukauchi had promised that it wouldn't take too long and that he had to be elsewhere soon anyway.

"You should visit the kid.", it was a weird way to start this conversation after all that had happened. Was Tsukauchi not in the picture? He knew what Shigaraki had done!

"Why?"

"Shigaraki trusts you, All Might.", the detective took his hat off and passed a hand through that short hair.

"What are you trying to say?", All Might crossed his arms and leaned with his back against the railing, as he looked up into the turquoise and cloudless sky.

"Nobody knows what happened in that cell and something just isn't right. How was Shigaraki even able to hurt Midoriya that badly? His quirk was bound by those gloves!"

"He didn't wear them when we entered..", All Might didn't want to believe his own words, but he had to face the truth and Tsukauchi now would have to as well, "We just underestimated him. I think he's been waiting for the right moment all along."

"Well, what if another villain was transported into his cell with Kurogiri's quirk?", Tsukauchi offered but All Might shook his head.

"Then why didn't Kurogiri take him with them? I thought he was devoted to Shigaraki."

"That's why I want you to talk to him.", a sad smile followed the detective's words, "If all the data I received is true, then there's more to find out. I believe Shigaraki is.. well, at least partly innocent."  
All Might wished he could still believe that too, but after he had seen Midoriya lying on that floor, with that deep, dripping wound and almost dying, something inside him had just switched.

 _"I am not trying to be rude here, but you don't seem able to objectively evaluate the situation anymore. You literally just asked me, why Shigaraki would stab us, as if it wasn't obvious."_ , All Might remembered that doctor's words that day after his visit with All for One.

 _She was right._

"Have you seen him?", All Might repeated and turned his head to look at Tsukauchi.

"Yeah. When I introduced myself, he said that he 'won't talk to any police scum'."

Unconsciously, All Might smiled at that.

"I will see him."

* * *

There was no natural light in this room. The walls seemed to be getting closer and the hero felt as if his supply of air was being cut off.

All Might had originally not wanted to come here this soon after the prison break, but Tsukauchi was convinced of Shigaraki's innocence, or at least that something wasn't as it seemed, meaning he was now more or less forced to do it for police investigation.

The tall and skinny man approached the patient, who was placed in a seated position. He had been informed prior about Shigaraki state of health. The skin beneath his eyes was still bloodshot, but his nose looked better than back at the prison when Bakugou had smashed it. There was not even a band-aid on it anymore.  
His jaw however would take much longer to heal, and the medics had told All Might to phrase his questions in a way Shigaraki would be able to give a short answer. The sooner he was completely healed, the sooner they would get rid of him.

Shigaraki's eyes were glassy; was he drugged? No, the doctors would have told him that.

"You haven't come to see me.", the young man spoke with a raspy and unused voice without looking up at him.  
All Might stepped even closer until he was one feet away from the villain and looked down at the frail figure that was cuffed to the bed, not even able to go to the bathroom by himself. The former number one realized once again, how young and innocent Shigaraki looked with those slender limbs and that pale hair. He felt that compassion rise inside him that had taken a hold of him the first time he had visited Shigaraki, but it was much easier to suffocate it now. Once he thought of Midoriya, all of the understanding for Nana's grandson was gone.

 _You already fell for it once; don't make him fool you twice._

"Have you given up on me?"  
To that, All Might felt as if he had been shot. Shigaraki slowly raised his head and his scarlet eyes met the hero's blue ones.

"Am I not worthy of saving anymore?", his voice breaking but his gaze chaining All Might where he stood.

 _Don't fall for it again._ Was he just going to let Shigaraki mock him, after he had almost killed young Midoriya? _Focus. Tsukauchi wants you to find out what happened._

"Will you tell me what happened in Tartarus and how the League could break into it?", he asked and Shigaraki turned his head back to face the wall, obviously not wanting to be confronted with that subject.

That was basically admitting that he had been part of it.

 _"You think that because I subconsciously decided not to kill you this time that I'm changed now? That you've somehow redeemed me? That I can live a normal fucking life?!"_ , why did All Might remember that just now?

What was he doing here again?

 _"Nobody knows what happened in that cell and something just isn't right. How was Shigaraki even able to hurt Midoriya that badly? His quirk was bound by those gloves!"  
_ Right, All Might was here to find out if Shigaraki had been part of the prison break. Not answering wasn't a confession. All Might was here to help the police investigate. Right?  
No.  
No, All Might was here for a different reason: He wanted to know why he had done it.  
Why had Shigaraki after all these months chosen to break their bond? Had all of this just been a joke to him? Had Nana's descendant just been ready to betray him and to misuse his trust from the very beginning?

"Young Midoriya is in a coma. What do you have to say to this?", he was not allowed to share this kind of information with him, but All Might didn't care anymore at this point. What were they going to do to him if they found out? Punish him by not allowing him to visit Shigaraki anymore? Or even punish Shigaraki, who was going to face the worst kind of punishment anyway?

The villain didn't move while answering, still staring at the wall: "Do you believe that it was me?"

Anger rose inside All Might. _Is he joking?! None of this is funny!_

"You attacked him! Isn't it obvious?", his voice was louder than any time before when he had spoken to the youth, but Shigaraki still wouldn't look at him.

"I knew I wouldn't be able to harm him.", Shigaraki didn't look as if that broken jaw of his gave him any problems to speak.  
Maybe he just didn't care about the pain.  
Maybe he even relished on it like he relished on the scratching of his neck he now was unable to do.

"So you don't deny it?!"

"I was jealous.", Shigaraki dodged the question and turned to face him again. Tears now glistered in his eyes, "I _hate_ him! He got everything!"

The scared skin of his forehead pulled down in anger and with his free fingers, he clenched the bed sheets beneath him. Then the tears streamed down his cheeks and into the white bandage of his jaw.

All Might watched the scene unfold: As soon as he felt sorry, he suffocated that feeling again by thinking back at what the villains had done to Midoriya and all those other guards. Shigaraki had no right to kill someone to make himself feel better.

 _"Had I wanted, I could have easily abused him, like Shimura did, that useless spawn of your master. Tomura would have taken it all like the little pet he was. He still loves his father, even after all that suffering."_

Shigaraki's life had not been easy. But even then, there is was point where All Might couldn't lead back every single problem to a troubled childhood.

It wasn't that he didn't care anymore, All Might heart bled watching Nana's grandson cry and he wanted to pull him to his chest and embrace him, to put his chin atop his head and tell him that everything was going to be alright and that it wasn't his fault. All Might wanted to guide him, to teach him, to show him but––  
Shigaraki Tomura had received more than one chance and he had always rejected it. Even Midoriya had offered his hand in friendship and it had almost cost him his life because of it.

 _It's time to let go._

 _I'm sorry Nana but.. I can't forgive him anymore._

"Tell me what happened at Tartarus. Were you involved in the prison break?", he returned to the topic he was sent here for. Shigaraki looked up and frowned at how All Might ignored him (and as he later would realize, his cry for help).

"Kurogiri was right, I should have listened. Do you want to know what he said?"  
All Might wondered when Shigaraki had spoken to Kurogiri. Did that mean the black mist had been inside his cell? Or was he talking about that one time Kurogiri had been granted his request to see Shigaraki?  
"He said that I would never be a part of your likes; that you would never forgive me, that you would always push me aside and paint me as the criminal that I am."

It hurt, because he was right: All Might had no reason not to believe that all of this had been Shigaraki's doing.

"Then tell me that you are not that criminal. You haven't denied anything and yet you're still expecting me to understand you? To forgive you?"

"I never wanted your fucking forgiveness!", Shigaraki became loud and All Might startled at how threatening he sounded when he put on that villain persona. But the young man bit his lip upon realising that he had lost control over his temper again and continued quietly, "It was _you_ who offered it to _me_ and now you're blaming me for asking for it, claiming it back as if all of these past visits never happened."

"You have broken my trust. You have attacked an innocent student. Are _you_ blaming _me_ for doing the logical thing?"

Silence.

"It breaks my heart saying this but.. I was wrong believing in you, Shigaraki Tomura."

Shigaraki gripped his bed sheets tighter at the mentioning of his full villain alias, understanding that this was indeed their last meeting and that All Might was never going to call him 'Tomura' again.

"Have you been planning on betraying me this way all along?"

All Might had already given up on looking for Shigaraki's innocence; he had not once denied the accusations. But before he left, the skinny figure needed to know if all of this had just been one of the former leader of the League of Villains' games. Only that way, he would be able to properly close this chapter of his life.

As if he could read his mind, Shigaraki denied him even this simple request: "Leave."

"Leave? I am not one of your lackeys. You still think the world lay at your feet, only demanding and ordering. It doesn't, haven't you learned that yet?", All Might wasn't going to accept this "answer".

"Fuck you, All Might! Fuck off! Just fucking LEAVE!", Shigaraki then shouted and bared his teeth, and pulled at the restraints with all his force, so hard that they cut into his skin.

It was just like the swearing and threatening back then.  
 _"FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME, MAN TO MAN! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"_ , he had said to him and although Shigaraki wasn't threatening him now, he felt as uneasy as back then.

All Might stepped back to the door when one of the zip ties ripped apart, followed by another. How did he still have that much strength? Suddenly, the guards entered and pushed Shigaraki back to the mattress while a doctor followed with a syringe in his hand. All Might assumed that they must have been alarmed by his shouting.

It was time for the hero to leave, but he couldn't turn away from a shouting Shigaraki who became calm the moment they pushed that syringe into his arm. He felt so torn between again, his mind showing him pictures of Midoriya covered in blood and his heart urging him to stop this madness.

This time, it was his mind that won, not his heart.

He bit his lip before turning to leave.

"Goodbye, Shimura Tenko."

* * *

"It breaks my heart saying this but.. I was wrong believing in you, Shigaraki Tomura."

 ** _Don't leave me.  
_** The moment All Might had said those words, something inside Tomura just shattered and every single feeling that wasn't anger got sucked into the black hole that was his heart.

 ** _Don't leave me._** _  
_He didn't register his own screaming or the zip ties and cuffs that cut into his arms. He didn't register the guards entering, or the doctor injecting yet another drug into his blood circulation.

 ** _Don't leave me._** _  
"You still think the world lay at your feet, only demanding and ordering. It doesn't, haven't you learned that yet?"  
I never wanted the world to be mine. I only wanted to be a part of it._

 ** _Don't leave me to rot in here!_** _  
All Might. Why didn't you understand? He would have killed me! It was the only way to survive._

 ** _Don't leave me, I.._** _  
All Might, I.._

 ** _I need you!_**

* * *

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** Someone else commented this was their favourite chapter so far and you seem so excited by it too WTF! I don't think it brings across anything! But i am so happy you like it! 3

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond:** RIGHT?! I love AFO as a character but he is a horrible person!


	16. Chapter XVI

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XVI – BLUE**

 ** _Around five weeks later_**

After his visit at the villain hospital, All Might had just pushed aside all his thoughts about Shigaraki. He had told Tsukauchi everything he had gotten out of the villain and that he wanted nothing to do with the case anymore, as well as that he wasn't going to be involved in the search for All for One or the League of Villain until Midoriya was fine again.

The truth however was, that Shigaraki had denied him every possibility to find closure. This period of his life would always come back to haunt him. Right now, caring about Midoriya distracted him pretty well and he never left his apprentice's side, only going home to shower and for a change of clothing.

It was already the middle of April; the school semester would be over by the end of May. With the deadline for the semester projects coming closer, Uraraka, Iida and the others did not visit Midoriya as often as during the first two or three weeks.  
They were friends. They didn't need to be here every day for All Might to know that they cared. Only Bakugou would still come every evening, spending those thirty minutes at Midoriya's bed and leaving without ever saying a word.

After four and a half weeks, the doctors had initiated the recovery process and All Might had been asked to leave the hospital. A week had passed since then, which according to the doctors was completely normal. The whole process could take up to ten days, so they were still in the normal realm.

During the waiting time, All Might had helped out Midoriya Inko do her chores, from driving her shopping to helping her clean. Midoriya's father was never around, so she enjoyed having company and someone giving her a hand and All Might enjoyed doing something other than playing hero, teacher or police work for a change. It did him good getting out again, although he still had to watch out for the journalists. The police had announced clearing up all that had happened at Tartarus during a TV show on Sakura TV in a week. Aizawa would be there as Eraserhead, as would principal Nezu and Kan Sekijiro as Vlad King. Since All Might was no longer involved in the investigation, they had not asked him if he wanted to be part of it.

He was just on his way back to his apartment after helping Midoriya Inko with some shopping, when his phone vibrated inside his pocket. Upon reading the text message from one of the doctors responsible for young Midoriya, All Might ran as fast as his skinny legs would let him.

"You had Bakugou worrying about ya, imagine that!", Kirishima ruffled Midoriya's hair.

"Shut the fuck up.", Bakugou warned him and turned away, crossing his arms in denial.

"Will you ever let go of him, Ochako?"

The whole class was cramped inside Midoriya's room, including as two of Vlad's students (Kendo Itsuka and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu), talking in on the poor guy who never had the chance to answer one question before the next came.

"Dude, you need to tell us _everything_!", Sero Hanta smiled brightly as he threw his arm around Midoriya.

"We're glad to have you back, Midoriya.", Tokoyami Fumikage, who was always so serious, now sounded genuinely happy about their classmate's return to the living.

"All Might.", it was Todoroki who saw him standing in the doorframe first. All the students turned to look at their former teacher and it suddenly got uncomfortably quiet in the room.

"Young Midoriya.", All Might breathed and gently pushed aside all of the students, that were either standing or sitting between him and his apprentice. He didn't care that all of their eyes were on him; he had waited weeks for this moment.

"All Might.", Midoriya smiled, tears gathering up in the corners of his eyes. The skinny figure didn't waste a second pulling the boy he had chosen as the ninth wielder and as his successor, into a tight embrace, burying his slender fingers inside that dark hair and pushing the kid's head into his chest.

"I told you to stop crying!", All Might scolded him but couldn't stop his own eyes from watering up, especially when Midoriya raised his arms to return the hug, "I thought I'd lost you!"  
All Might didn't let go for minutes and for all the other students, this was the sign to leave them alone, so they quietly exited the room.

When all of Midoriya's classmates were gone, All Might softly pushed Midoriya away and looked at him: "You look well, I am so happy."

"I feel good too.", Midoriya smiled and wiped away the tears with the back of his hand before moving himself into a more comfortable sitting position, "The doctors told me that it is normal to be confused at first, but I feel fine."  
For the first time in more than a month, All Might felt happiness light up the darkness that had surrounded his heart.

"But All Might.. why am I here?", the teenager blushed and scratched the back of his head.  
Right, he probably didn't remember much from what happened at Tartarus. Before All Might could say anything, Midoriya Inko stormed the room, throwing herself at her son and showering him with kisses, a sort of affection that was rather unusual to see in this culture, even between a mother and a child. But All Might didn't mind and he understood that it was his turn to leave them alone.

Midoriya Izuku had to stay at the hospital for further monitoring. If his anamnestic readings would stay as stable as they were now, there was nothing to worry about and he would be able to leave the hospital in about two to three days. Midoriya's mother kissed his head before leaving and then his classmates stormed the room again, only for the nurses asking them to leave since it was becoming late. How had they even gotten wind of Midoriya's awakening before All Might?

Once he was the only one left in Midoriya's room, the youngster's face became grim.

"How did I get hurt this badly? What happened?"

All Might folded his hands and took a deep breath before starting.  
"First, I am sorry for detaining this information this long. I was told not to bother your mind with things like this as to not disturb the healing process. Anyway, what happened is..", All Might licked his lips before continuing, "Shigaraki, he.. he attacked you."

Midoriya frowned: "What? Yeah, I mean.. well he did, but what happened after that?"

"The cameras and microphones suddenly broke down, making any monitoring or contact with the cell impossible. Then the League of Villains attacked. Many prisoners were able to escape, it was all planned.", All Might stopped to watch the teen's reaction, but Midoriya was just staring at the blanket, waiting for All Might to continue, "We couldn't enter the cell, someone was using a quirk to strengthen the walls and the door. Then young Bakugou and Kirishima arrived out of nowhere, and well..Bakugou just blew it up."

"Wait, what? Bakugou was in Tartarus?!", Midoriya covered his face to hide the embarrassment.

All of it really did sound like it was out of an action movie, but the boy shouldn't have been so surprised; hadn't he been the first one to pull a stunt like this, back at Kamino?

All Might smiled: "Yes. He and Kirishima hid inside the trunk of my car. No wonder the fuel went down like that, I didn't even notice the additional weight! But thanks to their help, your life could be saved."

"Bakugou and Kirishima.. saved my life?", Midoriya peaked through his fingers and All Might was thrown back to Shigaraki doing that when he wore the hand he called 'father'.

 _Now is not the time to think about things like that._

He softly patted Midoriya's back and nodded: "You have good friends, young Midoriya."

The boy nodded. "What happened then?"

At this, All Might's face darkened: "You were heavily injured, barely alive."  
It must have been weird, hearing that one self had been at the verge of dying.

"What happened to Shigaraki?"

"He was injured too. After Bakugou broke his nose and jaw because he thought you had died, Shigaraki had to be brought to the villain hospital. He will now face trial again, but it's clear he will get the same punishment as Stain or All for One, who by the way managed to escape."

"But.. I don't get it! Why?! And Stain and All for One..!", Midoriya's gripped the sheets of his hospital bed.

"The police has been working very hard catching all of the prisoners that escaped. Regarding Shigaraki.. He hurt you and he had part in the prison break. For that, he must face trial.", a sour taste filled All Might's mouth at his own words.

"What..! No!", Midoriya ripped the sheets aside and tried to stand up, but his legs were still wobbly and when he was about to fall, All Might reacted quickly and caught him, helping him back onto the bed.

"Calm down, young Midoriya. What's wrong?"

"Shigaraki, he– I mean, he did attack but he never hurt me! He was actually having some kind of panic attack before–", Midoriya's voice broke at a memory that had found its way back into his brain, "I remember, I remember now! It was him, All for One! All for One did this to me!"

* * *

Dagobah beach was beautiful; the wind was cold for a spring day but the sand All Might sat on was warmed up from the sunny day. He wished he could have just taken in the beauty of this world without nausea plaguing him. Twenty four hours were nothing to stomach what he had done.

All for One.

This had all been his twisted plan! All for One hat turned them against each other _again_!

"I've missed the warm weather.", an old an wise voice spoke to him and All Might weakly nodded in agreement. Gran Torino shakily sat down next to him and watched the pink and purple sky turning into a dark blue.

"Tsukauchi just told me what happened.", he then said and looked up to All Might.

"Why didn't Tomura tell me?", All Might sighed and filled his hands with sand, letting it fall like out of a funnel and doing it again and again, sort of like when people drew a certain pattern when talking on the phone. If only this nausea would go away so he could properly think about what to do next!

"Toshinori!", Gran Torino raised his voice, making his student face him, "There is _nothing_ this world has not already done to Shigaraki. He will get over it. He doesn't fear us as much as he fears All for One!"

It made sense.

And it ignited a completely new fire or hate for All for One.

"He used _him_ again, only to get to me. Not only that, but he almost killed Midoriya as well and blamed it on his own apprentice, just to turn us against each other!", All Might dug all his fingers into the sand, "And I fell for it! I wasn't able to save Tenko and now I have even pushed away Tomura too! He will never forgive me!"

The symbol of evil hadn't even shied away from using his most loyal servant to hit All Might where it hurt. All for One had not shied away to betray the boy that had probably looked at him like a father, the boy he had taken in, taught and nurtured.

 _"I orchestrated an opportunity for you and Tomura to face off and you smacked him down, beaming with the pride of victory and so blissfully unaware."_

Why?! How could this happen?! How could All Might fall for that again?

 _"Have you given up on me?"  
"Am I not worthy of saving anymore?"  
"Do you believe that it was me?"  
"He said that I would never be a part of your likes; that you would never forgive me, that you would always push me aside and paint me as the criminal that I am."_

Why hadn't just listened to Tomura? Why hadn't he seen through that mask? He was supposed to be a hero; he was supposed to know better!

All Might raised his hands to bury his face in them, trying to hide from reality.

 _"Thank you..for everything."_ , those words rang like bells inside his head. Thinking back, he did not understand how he could have been convinced of Tomura being guilty.  
Yes, Tomura had attacked Midoriya, but if Tsukauchi's theory way true, then Tomura would have had his chance to kill Midoriya and yet.. he hadn't. That was still to find out, but the fact the All Might had just assumed that the case was clear was.. embarrassing.  
Had he had that little fate in Tomura, after all these months and their time together?

"Toshinori,", Gran Torino got back to his feet, "stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't know. This is not your fault; you are not a mind reader! But now we need your help in search for All for One and the League."

"What good could I do?", he muffled into his hands and nuzzled his eyes.

Then he felt his master slap him across the head. It hadn't hurt, but the fact that he had done it was what startled All Might.

"Pull yourself together! You're All Might, _the_ All Might! If _you_ cannot save Shigaraki, then I doubt anyone else can!"

When All Might opened his eyes, Gran Torino was offering him a hand.

"There's much to do."

 _Nana, I am sorry._

 _Even if Tomura will never forgive me, I need to set things right._

"Right.", All Might took Gran Torino's hand and stood up.

"Good. Now tell me what Midoriya told you about One for All.", his master asked while All Might patted away those grains of sand from his clothes.

"It's weird and new to me as well. He said that he talked to one of the former wielders and that guy apparently told him how to sense All for One."

"That is something we could use to our advantage. Has Midoriya already tried it out?"

All Might shook his head: "He fears All for One could notice it if he uses it. We need to use this skill once we're ready to attack."

"Hmm. Yes, I agree." Gran Torino let his gaze wander about the waters, "Toshinori?"

"Yes?"

"Shigaraki will still face trial for attacking Midoriya. If he testifies that he had nothing to do with the prison break, or even better, if we find out that All for One is responsible for the kid's injuries as well, he might get a shorter sentence than originally suggested."

Just thinking about having to face Tomura again, threw All Might back into feeling nauseous. He wanted to see him and he needed to set things right but..

..he just feared it might have been too late to repair any damage done.

* * *

Tartarus was not secure enough anymore for Shigaraki Tomura to be brought back there. But that wasn't the only reason Tomura wasn't going back there.

The villain had been brought into a closed psychiatry, locked into one of the few padded cells, with nothing but a mattress inside and a hole that functioned as a bathroom. All Might was guided inside by one of the responsible doctors, as well as a guard that he already knew from Tartarus.

This was the first time in more than six weeks that he saw the prisoner – and Tomura looked more miserable than ever before. He sat kneeling, his hands laying flat on the padded ground, fingers outstretched, and no gloves on either of them. Shortly after Midoriya had told the police about his encounter with All for One, the doctors checked on Tomura's quirk and found that it was gone. It confirmed All for One being in the cell, Midoriya's statement and Tsukauchi's assumption that something had not been as it seemed – and that Tomura's quirk had been taken away by his master. Not only that, but the injuries he had suffered, had probably been inflicted by the man too.

However there were still things that were unclear and Tomura was the only one able to help them. He needed to testify to fill out the gaps in the police's report and of course for his innocence. But All Might wasn't only here to get his testimony.

He wanted to be what he had once offered to be.  
 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."_

Tomura was wearing a black hoodie that was too big for his slender body. His long hair was tied into a bun (not by himself All Might assumed, since he hated showing his face), revealing that scarred upper part of his face he had always been so guarded about. His eyelids were half closed and his gaze was empty.

"He's been suffering from a severe depression for about a month now. He won't eat, he won't drink and he won't move unless to relieve himself, but according to the data we've received from Tartarus, that isn't anything uncommon with him.", the doctor looked through some of the papers on his clipboard before continuing, "What worries me more is that we've specifically been told that he was rather sensitive about being touched, but now, he doesn't even flinch. It looks as if he has completely given up on life. "

All Might felt his throat tighten at the doctor's words. Tomura did not look up at them, although it was obvious they were talking about him.

"What about self-harm?", he asked quietly and hoped that Tomura hadn't heard that.

"We assume he would try to hurt himself if he could. This padded cell should keep him from doing anything worse than scratching, although we try to always keep his nails very short."

The hero thanked the doctor for his help and waited for the man to leave. The guard wanted to stay inside (change of protocol since the attack on Tartarus) but All Might asked him to wait outside – and he did.

The talking around Shigaraki Tomura had become quiet after the interview on Sakura TV. The show had invited Tsukauchi, who had then revealed to the public that Tomura had not played a bigger role in the prison break and that he was probably innocent. He had even gone as far as to say that he believes that Tomura had been brainwashed into becoming a criminal.  
Still, he preferred his relationship with the kid to be as private as possible, even if the public turned out to be more forgiving towards Tomura.

He approached the young villain and kneeled down across him.

"Tomura. It's me.", he started and stretched out his hand, carefully placing it on top of Tomura's head. His hair was still as soft as All Might remembered it. But Tomura, who's weakness had always been physical attention, didn't react at all. He never seemed to blink, his dark red eyes always staring into the void and All Might pulled his hand back.

"Tomura.. I am so, so sorry.", All Might's voice began to shake and he had to fight back the tears.

 _Don't you dare cry in front of him! You need to be strong!_ "I am here to atone for what I've done. I am sorry that I never visited you and that I didn't give you the time you needed."

 _"There is_ nothing _this world has not already done to Shigaraki"_

"Please just leave me to die."

All Might looked up at the prisoner, shocked that he had spoken, not so shocked about those words from not so long ago.

 _"There's nothing I can give you. Just leave me..to die."  
"Have them kill me. I want to die. _Please _."_

"Tomura, please, look at me!", All Might leaned forwards and took those bony shoulders into his hands, shaking him lightly but Tomura ignored him and still gazed into nothingness.

He had to try differently, if wanted to get through: "You don't have to forgive me but at least testify! Say that you're innocent and I am sure that your sentence will be shortened!"

"I am loyal to All for One. This is the punishment I serve for disobeying.", it was a blatant lie, All Might could tell from that indifferent and hollow voice that Tomura was speaking with, as if he was a broken recorder, repeating something that been drilled into his brain over and over again.

"Tomura. You fear that you won't have a way in your life without All for One. Let _me_ be that way. I beg you to trust me and I promise that I will never disappoint you again!"

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."_

"Remember what I said? About being there for you if you need a father?"

At that Tomura looked up at him and that emptiness was replaced with.. fear?

"This is the punishment I serve for disobeying.", he repeated and lowered his head.

"Tomura..?", All Might's voice was now small and asking but Tomura wouldn't react.

"Tomura!", All Might tried again with despair.

"It's no use, All Might.", the doctor's voice stopped All Might just from trying once again. He turned to face the man who had just entered the cell without him noticing, shaking his head.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what I have heard."

The hero looked back at Tomura.  
This was it? All Might had already assumed that Tomura wasn't going to forgive him that easily, but the youth wasn't going to speak out for his innocence, too? He was just going to accept his fate?

"Why, Tomura? Why giving up on life again?"

The younger man then faced him again, but remained quiet. All Might felt like a lightning striking him, when he realized that to Tomura, there was nothing in this world without All for One or him.

 _All for One left you._

 _You wanted me to accept you, to understand you._

 _And I left you too – reinforcing everything that All for One taught you._

"You were right, the world of heroes was never perfect and neither am I. And even if you will never forgive me, I still want you to understand that there's more out there that's worth living for."

When the villain looked up again, a spark of hope lightened inside All Might.

Had he reached him? Please, someone tell him he had reached him!

"But not for me."

That little spark extinguished, leaving All Might bitter and cold.

No, no! This couldn't be the end of it!

"Tomura!", All Might grabbed the younger man again and maybe out of an instinct or because he startled, Tomura defended himself and turned All Might's arm around, twisting it into a police armlock and smacking the blonde face down to the pads. The guard didn't even have to get inside before Tomura realized what he had done and let go of All Might, retreating into farthest corner of the room.

"Are you alright?", the doctor asked as he helped All Might stand up and the man nodded, turning around to look after All for One's student, who was pushing his forehead into the padded wall, his whole body shaking.

"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."

"All Might, it's time.", the guard announced as he re-entered the cell and All Might wanted to ask him for another minute, but the man's determined gaze already let him knew that wasn't going to happen. He sighed and followed both men outside, leaving Tomura alone.

When would he be allowed to see him again? Would he even be allowed? Midoriya had testified but if Tomura was going on keeping quiet, no one would bother giving him fair justice.

"I will never give up on you!", the door was closed. Fifteen minutes just weren't anywhere near enough.

Back in his apartment, All Might took a shower before taking place on his couch and checking his messages: Five missed calls from Tsukauchi.

This couldn't be good. All Might pressed the button, calling him back and the detective took the phone after the first ring.

"All Might?! Good thing I finally catch you!", the man on the other line was out of breath.

"What's wrong, Tsukauchi?"

"Shigaraki! He's gone!"

* * *

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** why are you just the cutest? And why are you always so fast? Yes, I feel like we had to have some sort of action for the story not to stay too monotonous! I wanted to wait with the next chapter for a little bit but just reading your review convinced me to publish it asap. Thank you so much for reviewing 3


	17. Chapter XVII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XVII – HOME**

At the point of their capture, Toga Himiko had not reached the age of eighteen, making her a minor.

Even if she was a murderer, the court still saw her as more of a 'crowd follower' than an actual villain. Putting her in a normal female prison had therefore been out of the question, which was why she got a place in one of the biggest juvenile detention centres of Tokyo.

But Toga Himiko wasn't as stupid as she sometimes made it look. She was a fast thinker and she was strong and quick. By scratching one of her social worker with those sharp nails and sucking the blood from underneath them, she was able to use her quirk and transform, tough only for a few minutes, it was long enough for her to incapacitate the worker and to disappear. It had not even been a challenge for her. Because she was a young and cute girl, people underestimated her constantly. Their failures were her luck.

In the detention centre, she had learned that the youngsters in there had neither been inherently evil, nor really villains, but mostly stupid teenagers with either a difficult childhood or the inability to control their emotions – and to be fair, she was one of them too. She had heard that after the time in there, some of them used their anger to fuel themselves on their way of achieving something greater and even becoming heroes. The detention centre also included therapists, trying to help those kids getting back on the right way. But Toga Himiko was too happy being around Shigaraki Tomura and the other members for her to go the same way as those teens. The League gave her a feeling of freedom she had never experienced before, nothing any kind therapy could ever do.  
She knew best; she had tried them all.  
The urge to drink blood that came from her quirk was something she had never been able to suppress. Now she didn't have to, and.. she didn't want to.

After the young girl had been able to escape, she had tracked down Giran.  
The broker had been contacted by All for One's doctor months before, who had informed him about the planned prison break. Giran had then taken contact with some of his people of the Tartarus coalition and in the country's higher courts, who had ensured that All Might's request had been accepted (with a change of certain conditions of course).  
The League of Villains was a tiny group, but All for One's underground network was large und spread into the farthest corners of this land.

Since Toga was still infatuated with that Midoriya kid, she had not been told prior about the identity of the student that would visit Shigaraki Tomura.

On the day of the prison break, one of Giran's contacts had brought them the blood they needed for the girl to transform into one of the guards. Like already mentioned: Toga wasn't stupid. The nature of her quirk and always having to run away from the police, have made her capable of adapting and fitting perfectly into her environment. Into _every_ kind of environment, even a high security prison like Tartarus.

Once she had been inside the building, freeing Kurogiri was nothing. She didn't even have to watch out for the alarms, because as soon as Kurogiri was free, he would teleport the rest of the League of Villains into Tartarus (including Twice, who had been in a completely different prison, which was a completely different story) and everything had taken its course. The prison's guards would then have been too focused fighting the members off to further care about Kurogiri.

All for One had planned out everything perfectly. By communicating with his own lawyer, who used his quirk to transfer information via some kind of telekinetic power (Spinner still didn't really understand how it worked exactly), the man had always been up to date from the first day inside the prison, which meant that he knew what the League had been up to all this time until their capture.

After Kurogiri had freed All for One, they had not come back with the apprentice – with Shigaraki. They had left him there.

 _"What are you doing? Where the hell is Shigaraki?!"_ , Spinner remembered shouting at the man.

 _"It's not the right time, Spinner."_ , All for One had only said and stepped into the warp gate first. They had not had any other choice but to follow him.

Later, they would find out about Shigaraki's test, the one he had failed and about who the student had been. Spinner still felt relief, knowing that the one Stain had chosen to be 'a true hero', had survived.

But what did that mean for Shigaraki? And why had Shigaraki not just done it?  
Not that Spinner and him had ever been close friends, but the leader he knew wouldn't have flinched decaying even a child. What had changed?

Spinner had principles: Even if All for One was the guy giving Shigaraki all the resources, he was not following him. Spinner was part of the League of Villains, the league Stain himself had been part of. Everything that had been going on since the break out, he.. he just wasn't liking it. Shigaraki and him, they had always been different: not a single spark of Stain's motivation had resided underneath that mop of silver hair, but.. Spinner had chosen to trust him. Somehow, the lizard still believed that Shigaraki and he wanted to same thing: to re-shape society and the hero's within it, but that they went on differently about it.

All for One however was different. He was the true king of the underground, the symbol of villainy: The one villains whispered about, the one who wanted to rule and someone Spinner couldn't trust.

Weeks passed with the members of the League wasting time inside some sky scratcher somewhere in what Spinner easily recognized to be Yokohama. All for One warned them from leaving, telling them that all cities would be swarming with police only looking for them.

It was during the middle of April when Spinner began losing his patience, demanding an answer from either Kurogiri, who was the only one allowed to leave at times, and from All for One, on what had happened that day of the breakout. And that had been the moment they had been told everything, from the moment the members of the League had been caught and how Shigaraki had changed  
– because of a hero.

Who that hero was, remained a mystery to them.

Leaving Shigaraki in that cell apparently had been All for One's way to show him that no one, except for the villains and the underground, would ever accept him for who he was. Even if he truly changed to fit into the current society, to them, he would always be garbage. All for One wanted him to know, that being his successor was who he was meant to be.

Spinner knew better: What the man was telling them was basically just a nicer way to say 'I am going to break him until he obeys me, until he never questions me again' and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Not only that, but all of the things All for One was telling them. But what was he going to do about it? The guy looked like he was about to die on that wheelchair, yet emitted such a fearful aura that Spinner had problems just keeping his eyes on him. And he was glad that he didn't stick around with them in that loft. Spinner needed time to think.

Later that month, Kurogiri then was finally told to get Shigaraki out of wherever he was. And he did.

It was April 28th, four days after the leader had been brought back. But Shigaraki still wouldn't talk to them. At all.

He very rarely left the room he had been assigned to, mostly to go the bathroom, then strolling back into the dark chamber without even looking at them. He always hid his head underneath that black hood, but whenever Spinner was able to get a glance of his face, he could see the emptiness in his scarlet eyes and the even sicklier colour that his skin had gotten.

He didn't wear any hands anymore; probably because they were still in police property, and he therefore couldn't hide his anxiety behind the one he used to call 'father'. But what got Spinner the most, was that one time he caught Shigaraki in the kitchen, holding a glass of water with all his five fingers closed around it. The lizard man's eyes had not left his hand and when their leader had noticed, he had let the glass fall, shards of it spreading on the floor, while he had stormed past him back into his room.

Ragdoll – he was reminded of that one woman from the Pussycats, whose quirk had been taken away by All for One.  
The king's quirk must have been something like this, something able to make people quirkless and take their abilities for himself. And now he had taken away Shigaraki's quirk, his own student's!

Spinner remembered when he had spoken to the others about it:  
"So he basically became a fossil.", Dabi had said, shrugging and turning back to the game he was playing on that ancient gaming device he had found in one of the rooms.  
"Poor Tomura. I hope he's all right!", Toga, feeling genuinely sorry about their leader.  
"Where do we want to go from here?", Mr. Compress, wondering about all of their futures.  
"He's our leader!", Twice's split personality argued, "Let's forget about him, he's useless now!"

It was obvious Shigaraki wasn't going to lead them anymore and Spinner wondered, what All for One was waiting for and why he thought it was even worth it anymore to keep him around.

And Spinner wondered, if he shouldn't just leave?

Did he care about the others? Yes, but was it enough to keep him around?

He didn't know the answer by the time it was already too late.

* * *

All for One was a gracious man. Not only had he taken him out of that closed psychiatry, he had given him one of the three sole rooms of this loft on the top floor of the tallest building that towered above Yokohama. Tomura's hometown, the place he used to live together with his father, before Sensei took him to Musutafu. He gave him a room there, near to the bar hideout he would later frequently visit, but they used to spend a lot of time on the country side as well, where his master would train and teach him.

All for One was a gracious man, but Tomura hated him.

The other members of the League all had to share two rooms, while All for One resided alone on the lower floors, not to be disturbed unless he called for anyone. Tomura had not been called since Kurogiri had taken him here; however the black mist regularly entered his room, multiple times a day without permission, to look after him.

Usually, he would say something like:  
"Are you well?"  
"You should eat."  
"Are you feeling sick?"  
"All for One will soon call for you."

Tomura would never answer and he felt like he should appreciate the effort Kurogiri invested, but he didn't, he just wanted to be left alone.

Did he though? Did he even _want_ anything anymore? He felt like even his wish to die had left him yet.. he had felt shame when Spinner had seen his hand closed completely around that glass. How, after a lifetime of acting carefully with all the things he touched, could he have been to careless?!

Tomura had spent these past days sitting on the ground in his darkened room, non-stop watching the news on all the channels this TV got, changing the channel whenever they were over, looking for the next. They didn't report anything about his disappearance; the police wanted to hide it. But what was he even looking for? He wasn't sure, but it had something to do with All Might.

 _"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."_

Aside from a bed and a few fresh clothes, there wasn't anything else in this room, but nothing would make him go outside to meet the others, especially not after what had happened in the kitchen.

 _I am not who I was before._

Today, he had awoken from a dream about his cell in Tartarus. All Might had been part of it too, standing before him, brushing the hair out of his face with a bright smile – like a father would with his son. He remembered the feelings his heart had held in the dream. They were gone now; what remained was void.

When things had become tricky, All Might had not wasted a second to push him aside.

But now that Tomura was here, back where he supposedly belonged, it didn't feel good either.

His master, his teacher, the man who had raised him.. had been the one responsible for what had happened to his family.

 _Why can't I forget?_

On the fifth day, Kurogiri entered his room again, closing the door behind him. Tomura felt his presence but ignored him, his eyes fixed on the bright screen before him. It was only after twenty minutes that the black mist sighed and decided to speak up (he must have had realized that Tomura wasn't going to say anything).

"Is there anything I can do to help you?", his voice wasn't that of a servant who just did what he had been told to do, but of someone who seemed to care. _Seemed_ to care because Tomura didn't believe that he really did.

"You could leave me alone and not enter without permission."

"You're acting bratty, Shigaraki Tomura.", there was the usual Kurogiri again. Tomura muted the TV and turned around to face the man.

"Why didn't you tell me back then?" Like back during their meeting in Tartarus, Kurogiri remained quiet, his expression unreadable.

"Then I have nothing more to say to you.", Tomura just wanted to turn back to the TV when Kurogiri sighed again and sat down on the side of his bed.

"If you feel like you were used, I-"

"I don't care about that!", Tomura interrupted him and got on his feet, facing Kurogiri with a mix of fury and desperation on his face, "But why them..?"

"Shigaraki Tomura, know that I am on your side! We-", Kurogiri started, when suddenly a phone ringed inside his pocket. At first, Tomura couldn't believe that the guy really had decided to pick up that call in the middle of their conversation. Kurogiri had been the one to come into his room to have a talk, what could be more important than this?! Until he realized that it was their Sensei speaking on the other side.

"Yes, Sensei.", Kurogiri only said, put his phone away and stood up, facing Tomura, "Sensei wishes to see you."

"Now? Weren't you just going to say–", but this time, it was Kurogiri who interrupted him.

"Sensei, doesn't like to wait.", the way he said it was harsher than usual. Tomura wanted to speak up but closed his mouth and nodded, then followed his servant out of his room, determined to ignore the others. As expected, all of the League's members turned to look at him with no one saying a word. He didn't look at them, but he could feel their eyes on the back of his head until him and Kurogiri were out of that apartment.

Once on the lower floors in front what was supposed to be his teacher's office, Tomura was left by Kurogiri. He took a minute to calm down and focus before he opened the door and entered. Inside, he couldn't see much, even though his eyes had been adjusted to the darkness due to staying in his room all day long. There seemed to be a lot of machines in here. All for One was sitting on a desk, looking at a computer screen, the only thing giving off a bit of light. The young villain couldn't think of anything but that to be the place Sensei had usually communicated with them. Behind his master who was attached to a machine that was helping him stay alive, stood an ominous figure, veiling itself from Tomura's eyes. Was it the doctor? It must have been, All for One didn't let so many people get this close to him.

"You wanted to see me?", Tomura was not surprised at how hollow his voice sounded compared to a few minutes ago, reflecting what he felt inside now that he stood before the man that had turned him and his whole life into the absolute garbage that it was. He didn't feel anger, he felt absolutely nothing.

"Yes. Do you hate me now, Tomura?", All for One looked up from his screen and waved his apprentice to come closer.

Tomura stayed where he was.

"Yes.", he wasn't going to lie to him.

All for One grinned: "Good. You've lost your attachment: that makes you invulnerable."

The young man clenched his fist, relishing on the anger that suddenly filled his hollow body with new energy.

 _"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."  
"I will never give up on you!"_

 _You lied to me. Where are you now, All Might?_

"Have you learned your lesson, Shigaraki Tomura? Have you seen, how they were ready to give up on you as soon as they didn't have someone else to blame?"

Tomura's fists loosened and he weakly nodded. It was the truth and yet all he wanted to scream at the man, to jump onto his throat and force him to admit the murder of his loved ones.

 _My family.._

 _I can never bring them back, not even if I managed to kill him._

 _They're gone._

 _They're gone and they're never coming back!_

All of the anger slowly vanished like chalk on the ground, washing away with the warm rain of a summer afternoon.

 _"There's no reason to be scared, it's just a storm, Tenko."  
"Tenko, go wash your hands. Supper is ready."  
"Welcome home, Tenko!"_

His head hurt at those memories, if one could even call them that. It was more like snippets; pictures and people speaking, sometimes making sense, sometimes so foreign he couldn't imagine them being part of his childhood.

"Shigaraki Tomura."

Tomura feared his teacher and All for One liked it, a wide grin appearing on his face again: "Come closer."  
The apprentice obeyed and slowly dragged his weak body to his master, stopping right in front of the desk.

"Closer.", All for One ordered and Tomura sighed silently, walking around the desk and letting himself fall onto his knees right next to his master's wheelchair, placing his hands onto the wooden floor and waiting.  
He already expected All for One to caress his head, but what he didn't expect was feeling creeped out by it.

"Will you be good from now on?", the man asked, still playing with Tomura's hair.

 _Please take your hand away._

Tomura wanted to gulp, but his mouth was dry. He hands were sweaty, and he felt nauseous at the idea of going back to be All for One's little pet, but his head nodded before he could make a conscious decision.

 _"Please..don't leave..I'll be good."_ , his pathetic words when All for One had left him in that cell.

All for One raised his hand from his head: "Stand up. It's time to give you back your quirk"

Tomura did as told and before he could say something, black spikes shot out of All for One's hand and pierced his chest.

He was smacked onto his back. All of his five fingers immediately dug into the fabric of his black long-sleeved shirt as he screamed in agony. The spikes felt as if they were tearing his flesh apart, while at the same time non-existent knives were stabbing into the open wound, a wound that wasn't there. Although the young villain had pushed away all memories of the pain he had received from this quirk back at Tartarus, he was sure it felt ten times more excruciating now than it did then. Tomura bit on his teeth so hard, he feared he would break them. Why did it have to hurt so much? He tried to open his eyes, his vision blurry from either the tears or because he was on the brink of unconsciousness. But this kind of mercy wasn't granted to him.  
Why couldn't he just pass out? Why did it have to hurt so much and.. had other people experienced this pain as well when All for One had taken or given them their quirks? Why had he never cared or even thought about them?

 _"I won't hurt you Tomura.."_

 _MAKE IT STOP!_ , he begged mentally, not able to form a sentence with all those screams coming out of his lungs, praying to whatever deity or higher existence was responsible for his suffering, _Please make it stop! PLEASE!_

 ** _"..And I won't allow him to hurt you either."_**

 _Then why are you allowing it now?_

Tomura wanted to turn around on his side and hug himself in comfort, or to scratch his neck in the hope that familiar feeling would distract him from what was happening. He didn't manage; the spikes kept him pinned down where he was. Then suddenly, as soon as it had begun, it was over and Tomura grasped for air, breathing heavily and not moving from is spot. He realized that he was whining like a child.

How long would it take for him to regain himself? Minutes? Hours? He didn't know and his blurriness started to make him nauseous.

"What is it, Sensei?", it was the doctor's voice resonating weakly into his ears.

"I can hear my little brother's voice again.", All for One sounded amused, "They're coming."

 _Who's coming?_

"WHAT?! We need to leave immediately and get you to safety, Sensei!", the doctor was panicking.

 _What is going on?_

"No."

"No?"

"Yes, doctor. We will stay here and fight them. No more running away.", All for One explained.

 _Fight who? Who is coming? Heroes?_

"Are you sure, Sensei?"

Tomura managed to turn onto his side, now hugging his hurting chest. Even through the pain, he could feel his teacher's eyes on him – and fear grasped him.

"Yes: The time has come."

* * *

„Are you sure it's here, young Midoriya?", All Might couldn't remember the last time he had been so nervous.

"Yes All Might. It's like.. I've never been so sure of something else in my life." The way One for All reacted to Midoriya was different than with him. His student dreamed a lot about the predecessors and was sometimes even able to communicate with them, learning how to use certain techniques All Might didn't even know were part of the quirk. Like the one the student had been using now.

 _"All for One and One for All are the two different sides of the same coin."_ , Midoriya had said and All Might had felt like their roles had been switched and he was back to being the student again, _"They are intertwined. **He** has shown me how to feel All for One's aura, his 'life-energy', and how to pinpoint its location."_

 _"Can All for One hide it?"_ , Tsukauchi had asked the boy during one of their meetings at the police station. There had been a lot of those these past few days.

 _"Yes. But **he** assured me that he won't do it once I don't hide my aura as well."_

 _"Who is **he**?"_, All Might asked although he felt like he already knew the answer.

 _" **He** is One for All."_

Now they were here, inside a disguised police truck, waiting for the signal to enclose the building with all their forces. There would be Nomu's, there would be the League of Villains and maybe some of All for One's lackeys, but Endeavor, Best Jeanist and many other pro heroes with them as well. And not to forget even some students out of class 3-A and 3-B!

All Might closed his eyes and tried to even his breathing, going through the memories of these past four to five days.

After Tsukauchi had called him to tell him that Shigaraki was gone, he hadn't even tried going to sleep anymore. Had Midoriya not told them about his new ability, All Might could have sworn he would have gone out there looking for Tomura on his own.

 _As if you could still do anything._ He laughed to himself about his own stubbornness. Didn't he want to do the same thing after the battle of Kamino, when he had already known that his powers were history?

 _Had Gran Torino not stopped me that day, then.. I might have died at Tomura's hands._

"All Might? Are you alright?" The blonde opened his eyes to find Midoriya's worried face.

He nodded and reached forward to ruffle his apprentice's hair: "Young Midoriya. There is still so much I want to teach you."

The student smiled: "After we save Tomura and bring All for One to justice."

"Right."

 _Will I even make it out alive? The last time I fought a battle like this, I was still able to use One for All. Barely, but I was able to defend myself, but now.._

He wanted to tell his student that this man wasn't their everyday criminal or some street thug, that even if they incapacitated the League of Villains and the Nomus: All for One could fight alone. Even in his battered state, this man, this _monster_ , wasn't to be underestimated.

But Midoriya knew that. And Bakugou, Todoroki, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Endeavor, Best Jeanist, Mount Lady, the Wild, Wild Pussycats and all of the others that had already fought against him (or had watched him). There was no point in telling him or the others what they already knew.

 _How can they be so optimistic?_

"I got the signal!, Tsukauchi then suddenly announced, "Friends, today, we're going to win. Let's move out!"

* * *

 **End note:** There will be a "what happens next". Kind of a mini sequel but not really.

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** yes, you are adorable, yes, you are *saying this in a voice as if speaking to my pet*!  
"It nicely tied up some ends, and opened up the avenues necessary to move forward." Damn, your way of phrasing sentences, I wish I could speak English that well. Then I might not be forced to go back to the same sentence structuring all the time and this story had more potential. hehehehe "Kurogiri express"! Fucking beautiful. Andit's you who's the best for always reviewing, I appreciate you taking time for this : )))

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond:** I honestly don't know about the bun *haha* I just imagine someone from the workers did it. Thank you for reviewing, darling!

 **Answer to penameRinMay:** Thank you so much for liking it and leaving a review! I appreciate you taking time! I've been waiting for something like this too and figured I would have to write it myself

 **Answer to InfectedAnimeMonster:** I am glad you like it, thank you for taking the time and leaving a review! Chapters should come more often starting from now : )

 **Answer to Barbora(Guest):** I am so happy you like it! Thank you for leaving a review : ) More will come!


	18. Chapter XVIII

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XVIII – BEGINNING OF THE END**

 _Where am I?_

 ** _"Hello, Tenko."_** , the voice of a woman echoed through the darkness. It was so.. kind and strong and warm.

 _Tenko? My old name._

 ** _"So, you came in contact with a wielder of One for All?"_** – Why did he feel like he knew her?

"Who.. who are you?", he was surprised at how foreign his own voice sounded in his ears. Was this really him?

 _My voice is like that of a child.  
Where am I?  
Am I dreaming?  
Am I dead? _

He looked around.

 _I can't see a single shimmer of light..no.. wait, something's there!_

Tomura then saw her face; her presence lightening up the darkness around him. That beautiful woman he had seen in his vision when he had touched Midoriya's arm. One for All's predecessor: It _really_ was her!

Before she could answer, Tomura spoke it out for her: "You're.. you're Shimura Nana! You are father's mother!"

She smiled and she reached for him, offering him her hand: **_"Let me help you, Tenko."_**

How could this woman be his grandmother? How could someone with such a warm smile be the mother of his father, a man that had been so cruel to him?

 _What are these thoughts? I'm even thinking like a child!_

"You can't.", he heard himself responding straightaway, while at the same time longing to touch her hand, feeling that if he would take it, it would free him from all this pain and sorrow and from his sad destiny. But what good could a dead person do for him now?  
Still, his hand was reaching for her all by itself. Maybe, just maybe there was a little shimmer of hope, even for someone like him, right?

 _Will I truly feel less miserable if I let you into my heart?_

 _"You will come crawling back to me once you realize that_ they _don't want you, Shigaraki Tomura."_ , at the memory of All for One's words, he pulled back his hand before the tips of their fingers could touch and Nana's eyes widened in surprise. Had she really assumed she could reach him? Him, who was so far gone?  
Burning tears gathered in corner of his own eyes and he was already hating himself again for not being able to push them away before they wet his cheeks: "No!"

 ** _"Tenko. I am here for you. You have to trust me."_**  
Why was she trying to console him?

"No! He will kill me! Leave me alone!"

 ** _"Tenko!"_** , her voice became smaller once Tomura's mind started to build a wall to shield himself from her, from everything that tried to reach his heart. And all his surroundings turned back to black and his grandmother vanished. All was back to how he wanted it to be: Dead and quiet.

But he didn't feel any relief, because Tomura found himself back in a nightmare.

This time, he wasn't himself in his own dream (if all of this even was a dream) but the observer, and what he saw made his stomach turn: It was a frail little person, sitting on the pavement, his hair a white mess and his skin and clothes dirty and ripped in various places. He was dangerously underweight and there was dried blood all over him.

 ** _"No one came to save you."_** , that voice again, **_"That must have hurt. Right, Shimura Tenko?"_**

No, no, no! He didn't want to relive this!

 ** _"Everyone just passed by, pretending not to see, thinking that some hero would save the day."_**

"Get away from him.", he threatened the figure with the suit and short hair, but the man couldn't hear him (that, or he just didn't listen) and knelt down, closing the child, – him –, into a tight embrace. Tomura remembered that moment as clearly as he could see it now happening before him. Back then, it had given him just the necessary amount of hope and purpose to continue living. Who had that man been, who had taken him with him? He had not cared back then, because this had been a man that _wanted_ him. Unlike his father who had used every opportunity to hurt him, unlike his mother who had left them and unlike society and their heroes, who only cared about themselves and who had shown him what he was: Dirt, utter trash.  
Back then, in that tiny, naive mind of a child, he had thought that All for One wanting to give him a future must have been a sign of how righteous he was.

 _All Might wanted you too, you know. And it was you, who pushed him away._ Tomura dug his nails into the inside of his hands at that whispering voice in the back of his head, nagging at his conscience.

 ** _"Who decided to make the world this way?"_**

"Get away from him!", Tomura repeated, louder this time as if he could change what had happened all those years ago that way.

 ** _"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."_**

Nothing would change, the past was the past. But Tomura couldn't help it: He jumped at All for One and closed his five fingers around his master's neck, only for his surroundings to change again.

His mind was spinning. "What is happening to me?!"

All for One was gone. When the darkness was lightened up again, the young man turned around to look at where he was, realizing quickly that he knew this place very well.

He was in a bedroom. Next to him stood a mirror and Tomura felt thrown into a trance when he saw his own reflection, so tiny and innocent. Bruises in blue and purple covered the exposed skin of his arms.

 ** _"Tenko!"_** , another voice he recognized pulled him out of his thoughts.

Tomura looked down at his small and puffy hands, closed around the arm of an adult. His eyes followed the arm, attached to the body of a tall man, with a face somehow resembling his and at the same time not.

"Father?"

 ** _"What have you done, Tenko? What have you done?"_** , Tenko let go of the arm he was holding, but it was too late. There was so much desperation in his father's voice when he screamed while crumbling apart. A scream that died abruptly. Soon, the man had turned into a pile of blood and dust.

"Father?", Tomura fell on his knees, the fabric of his child pants soaking with the blood of his parent.

"Father! Father, no!"

The only thing that remained was a big hand in the middle of the red pool.

"How can you leave me?!"

 _"But if you ever need someone to be a father to you, a father that won't hurt you.. I'll be there."  
_ Why now? Why did have to think of those words now?!

 _All Might wanted you too! And you pushed him away!_ , his guilty conscience trying to tear him apart.

"Please don't leave me!"

 **"Father!"**

Tomura eyelids shot open.

He stared at a ceiling for a while, his hand outstretched to reach for something, before he realized that he had been asleep.

It really had been a dream. But it had not felt like one, it had been too real, like he had revisited all those past events.

 _Shit._

He sat up and saw that he was lying on a bed, wearing a fresh shirt without the holes of All for One's spike quirk. The thought that someone had changed him and therefore touched him in the progress, made him cringe.

His left wrist was attached to a tube, which led to an infusion bag: He was in a medical room. With his right hand, he rubbed his eyes and since it was already there, scratched the skin around his eyes.

"Time you woke up, mop-head."

Tomura startled and his red eyes shot into the direction the voice had come from: It was Dabi, who was sitting on a chair, right foot on his left knee and pressing the buttons of an older gaming device. Faintly, Tomura realized that the walking flamethrower must have gone through some of _his_ old stuff, because it was impossible to find these on the market anymore and he doubted that Dabi had left the tower, just to get himself a game. Any other time in the past, Tomura would have become furious with the guy taking his things without his permission. But he had to admit that he really didn't care that much anymore – and he never really had in the past either; it had most likely been just a way to get his frustration out on someone.

 _You're just like your father_. That realization irritated the skin around his eyes and on his neck again. Images of his parent slapping him across the face and then dying at his hands were shown before his inner eye, already giving him a headache.

 _Wasn't that dream punishment enough?_

"What happened?", he would have rather not talked to someone from the League, or anyone for that matter.

"No idea what your boss did to you, but that beanpole body of yours apparently didn't take it very well.", Dabi didn't look up from whatever game he was playing. Tomura then stared at his own hands, which didn't look different than usual. He reached for the tube on his wrist and ripped it out, but didn't let go of it until his quirk turned it, and the infusion bag it was attached to, into dust.

It.. really was back. Not that there had been a reason to doubt it – All for One was harsh but still a man of his word.

The pale-haired swung his legs to the side and jumped out of the bed. His body felt as good as new.

"How long was I out?", he asked while looking down at himself.

"Don't know, but it's been about three hours since I'm here."

 _But why is he here?_ "I'm surprised you managed to sit around in a room with me that long."

Dabi stopped pressing buttons and put the game boy on a table next to him, then leaned back and crossed his arms: "You're probably wondering why I'm here. I have some questions."

 _Of course he does. Great._

"What the fuck do you want?", it didn't sound half as menacing as Tomura intended it to be. He grabbed the pair of shoes that were placed on a chair next to his bed and put them on quickly. He needed to get out of here, so he jogged over to the door, feeling Dabi's eyes following his every movement.

"Too bad that I don't care about your questions."

His hand was just about to pull down the doorknob when Dabi appeared behind him, grabbing him by the wrists and locking his one arm behind his back while pushing him face-forward into the hard wood. Tomura managed to look to the side before the impact could break his nose.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"What? You're gonna call for Daddy again?", Dabi whispered and painfully pulled at his arm and as he pressed his elbow into Tomura's spine.

"Ahh.", it escaped Tomura and he realized that he wasn't as "healed" as he thought he was. Additional pain was the last thing he needed; his chest was still strained from his master's quirk. The young leader tried to break free from Dabi's grip, without success.

 _Why can't I fight him off?!_

Dabi was strong, but so was he. Not only that, but he was quick too, how had the guy even managed to grab him that way?

 _Have I lost my focus that much?_

"Man, they weren't kidding when they told us that you've lost quite some strength. I would have never been able to hold you that long.", he sounded amused.

At that, Tomura stopped the fighting for a second. _What did he just say?_

"Who told you what?", he asked calmly, although there was a storm of fear and anger raging inside of him.

"Just that little Shigaraki has changed a lot and is suddenly taking a liking in _heroes_."

Tomura gulped. It wasn't true, not the way Dabi saw it. He could deny it but what good would it do? He wasn't the leader of the League of Villains anymore; he might as well just tell the guy the truth. And then what? Was Dabi going to kill him for it? What was he supposed to do? Was there even a thing left in his life, something that he wanted?

"You're not denying i–", the man holding him didn't get the chance to finish his sentence when the ground beneath them began shaking so hard, it made Dabi lose his balance. He was thrown onto the floor, pulling Tomura with him. All for One's apprentice landed on top of him and it finally gave the pale-haired man the chance to free himself from Dabi's grip. The whole building shook so tremendously and not in the usual way a sky scratcher would shake when faced with an earthquake; they both knew this must have been something different. Tomura got himself on his feet, leaving Dabi where he was as he stormed towards the windows, ripping the thick curtains aside.

Before his eyes, a massive body in a tight jumpsuit towered just before the building.

His scarlet eyes widened: "Mount Lady."

"That bitch!", Dabi was back on his feet as well. His hands engulfed in a blue flame, shooting it into Tomura's direction. The other threw himself aside as the windows exploded, shards of glass raining down on him.

"You fucking idiot!", Tomura screamed at him as he raised himself from a ground that was now covered in glass and dust, always keeping his left arm in front of his face to protect his eyes.

It didn't look like Dabi's attack caused Mount Lady any harm, since the building shook again and made Tomura fall back onto the shards. He hissed as he cut the exposed skin of his arms. Ignoring the pain and the blood that was dripping from deep open wounds, he got up again and stormed passed Dabi and out of the room.

A pro hero attacking their hideout could only mean that the police was here as well. None of them were on this floor yet, but he could already hear their footsteps as they were running up the stairs. If he could trust his hearing, it must have been hundreds of them, all heavily armoured and shielded. With his quirk back, he could turn the tower into dust but how far would his quirk spread? And wasn't it going to drain him completely, making it easier for the police outside to arrest him?

 _Up! You need to get up!_ , his mind told him and his body followed. Elevators and stairs would be blocked by police and heroes and if he didn't want to jump out a window, he had no choice but to get back to the top floors.

 _And then what?_

The doors of one of the elevators just opened when he passed them on his way to the next pair of stairs.

Special force police men stormed out of it; it was so many of them that Tomura wasted a second asking himself how they had even managed to squash themselves all in there, including their shields and weapons.

They had not seen him yet and he used that opportunity to flee.

 _Run, you idiot!_ , his instinct screamed and he ran as fast as he could, taking multiple steps of the stair at a time. His head throbbed at his movements and the cuts on his arms burned.

"Stop immediately! W–", he heard a guy shout into his direction, but he was too far up to hear the end of it.

 _Fuck!_ , he cursed himself for not being in a good shape. He was usually so fast, had he really slackened that much? Is this what mere months of prisons did to a body that had been trained for years?

Tomura ignored the shouting police men (not that he could understand what they were saying anyway), never stopping even when his lungs began burning, demanding that he halted and took a deep breath.

 _Another floor left! Do not stop!_

 _And then what?_ , he asked himself again, _Is Sensei there to save us? Is Kurogiri there to warp us away?_

He didn't want to fight – he didn't want to kill another person, but he also wasn't going back to Tartarus.

At the top, Tomura pushed the doors open to the loft.

* * *

This was not how All Might had imagined it would go, but what had he expected exactly? He was no police man and he wasn't a hero anymore, of course Tsukauchi and young Midoriya would tell him to stay behind. Unlike the prison break, this was a planned mission where vulnerable civilians like him would only get in the way (though they had told him to stay back because of safety reasons).

While the police forces stormed the tower, two assisting helicopters surrounded the building. Kamui Woods, accompanied by a troop, let himself down a rope and onto the roof. All Might couldn't actually see him, they were too high above, but the way his limbs spread into those tree-like branches, he was easy to recognize.

 _That must mean Gran Torino and Endeavor are in the other._

Kamui's helicopter then sank to the ground, landing on a marked spot while the attack began and Mount Lady used her quirk to "shake the villains up a bit". After about half a minute, a blue flame shot through one of the windows on the upper floors, but the tall woman managed to pull her leg away before she was hurt. And soon after, she shrank back to her normal size, waiting for additional orders.

All Might's eyes never left the tower, even when the second helicopter landed behind him, blowing his blonde hair into all directions.

 _There is one of them,_ All Might thought when he saw the blue flames. Although he knew that wasn't Tomura, he still felt his body becoming tense.

"All Might!", a familiar voice called his name and he turned towards the helicopter behind him, its wings turning slower and slower until they came to a halt. Best Jeanist waved to him from inside.

"I didn't know you could ride a helicopter.", All Might commented as he sat down on the entrance of the machine.

"All for One did quite a job last time I fought him. I won't be able to go out into the battlefield, but I still wanted to be of good use to the pro hero world.", the man was facing the tower as he said that, purposely looking away as if to hide his expression. Back at Kamino, in a matter of a single second, Best Jeanist's capability to fight in the pro hero league had been taken from him.

"I see."  
As someone who couldn't be a hero any longer as well, he knew how frustrating that feeling was, and how at the same time, one needed to focus on other things to keep going. Jeanist had chosen to help the police by piloting. All Might originally had just wanted to focus on teaching Midoriya, but then Tomura came to Tartarus, and he–

 _All for One, this is your fault – everywhere you go you only bring suffering, to the world around you.. and even to ones close to you._

Best Jeanist turned around to face him with a smile: "It's not so bad, you know. There are countless other jobs I am still able to do, even with my body."

 _Jobs. A normal job. Would Tomura be able to do it? To lead a normal life?_

 _..._

 _What am I thinking? After this, he will be farther away from freedom than ever before._

"Are you thinking about _.._ Shigaraki?"

 _Is it really this obvious?_

"Are you going to lecture me as well?", he couldn't help but add a sarcastic smile.

 **-"Toshinori!" -**

Best Jeanist was speaking to him, but All Might couldn't hear him anymore. That.. call. It had been like a lightning strike, still vibrating inside the very core of his body, inside All Might's soul.

His left hand wandered to his chest, feeling his accelerated heartbeat.

 _Why am I shaking? What was that..?_

 **-"Toshinori!" -**

Again, that lightning that shook his body.

"All Might. You're looking pale. Are you alright?"

"N.. Nana?", All Might managed to say through his heavy breathing.

 **-"He needs you!" -**

Half a second later, as promptly as the lightning inside his heart had struck, that intense feeling vanished and All Might's senses became clear again.

 _'He needs you!'? Nana, are you telling me about Midoriya? About Tomura?_ His eyes wandered back to the tower and the explosions of fire, which seemed to shoot out of every window on the upper floors.

 _I don't know where Tomura is. But Midoriya is definitely up there._

"Jeanist.. I need your help."

Who needed helicopters or elevators, when you got Todoroki Shouto on your team, raising huge blocks of ice out of the ground faster than a rocket, catapulting him and Bakugou to the top of the tower in a matter of seconds.

"Once we're up there, don't fucking blow this, Deku!", Kachann had said to him on their way up, making him look like an incompetent in front of all the others. Midoriya knew better; it was just his way of saying to take care of himself and he nodded to his childhood friend. He had no intention of letting anyone die today.

Since Midoriya had awoken from his coma, he felt like his and Bakugou's bond had deepened: _You're my rival, Kachann. And you're my friend. Once all of this is over, I want to fight with you again and I will show you how much progress I have made!_

 _Once all of this is over – once we have saved_ him _._

His mind and heart were calm, the last splinters of fear pushed aside by that pulsing presence inside of him. Whenever Midoriya closed his eyes, that being stood in front of him, not in the form of a man, no, it wasn't even the form of a human. It was a fair light, blue but so bright it seemed white.

These past days, Midoriya would try to talk to **him** , trying to find out as many things about One for All and All for One as possible, but the first bearer of the quirk, One for All **himself** , had rarely answered. The dark-haired hero in training didn't even remember if One for All had actually explained to him how to feel and pinpoint their enemy's life-force, or if that information had just been ingrained inside his head upon waking up from his coma. He wished for a little more time to explore this new power of his a bit more, but time was a luxury they didn't have.

Something wasn't right – everything was just going too good for them.

When he and Bakugou had entered the loft, Endeavor, Gran Torino and Kamui had already seized Mr. Compress and Spinner, successfully incapacitating them before they could harm a single one of the police men who had jumped onto the building from the helicopters with them.

"IZUKUUUUUUU!", Toga had screamed his name and jumped onto him, her knife ready to stab his guts but Midoriya was faster than her and using the power of One for All, he easily dodged her. The young man reappeared behind her and let go of his power, wanting to hit her neck to knock her out without causing any serious damage, but forgot that Toga was a skilled and dangerous fighter too. In a swift pirouette and without even seeing him, she turned around and let her knife sink from above, almost looking like a human guillotine. She managed to cut some streaks of Midoriya's hair. An explosion (probably Bakugou) then let them lose their balance and they both fell. To his luck, Toga accidentally let go of her knife.

"Are you really holding back because she's a girl?!", Gran Torino shouted over to him and Midoriya realized that everybody had just been standing around and watching him fight. Twice, the last present member of the League, had already been knocked unconscious.

 _Must have been Kachann._

And as for his teacher's question.. No, he had not held back because she was a girl, but because like Tomura, he wanted to save her. He wanted to save all of them from All for One. Tomura meant something to All Might. All of these people meant something to someone.

He stood up and turned back to her, still sitting on the floor and looking at him with adoration in her wide goleden eyes.

"Toga.. you don't have to this. You don't have to fight us!"

"But Izukuuu.. it's just so fun!", she was back on her feet so quick, slicing across Midoriya's face with another knife she had pulled out of nowhere.

"What the hell are you doing?!", Endeavor was pissed at him.

He activated his quirk again and grabbed both of Toga's wrists, squeezing them so she let her knife fall. She never lost that crazy wide smile though.

"Stop it!", Midoriya raising his voice did not have any effect; Toga continued to smile. "Why are you enjoying this?!"

Before she could say anything, Gran Torino kicked her in the neck and her eyes rolled into the back of her head while her body became lump. Midoriya laid her down while his teacher scolded him for acting so recklessly: "What were you thinking?! Nowhere in our mission is it stated that should try to convince the enemy to join our side!"

"I just-", Midoriya tried to defend himself and was interrupted again.

"Midoriya! I know what you want to say, but these people are not your everyday criminals. They didn't steal some cigarettes at your local Family Mart! They _are_ dangerous! What if Nomus appeared? What if other members of the League or their allies appeared?"

"Well.. where are they?", this question rendered Gran Torino speechless. And that was Midoriya's issue with this whole situation: Why was this so easy? Where were the Nomus? Where was Kurogiri and All for One?

"Wherever they are, it doesn't change the fact that you were acting stupid.", Endeavor walked over to them and joined Gran Torino in scolding him.

 _I am a hero. It is my duty to at least try to save them.._

"The special forces should arrive here any second now.", Kamui chose not to comment on Midoriya's behaviour, although there was no mistaking the judgement in his eyes.

"Fog-guy and Handy-man are still somewhere in this tower. So you idiots just stay here while I'm going to check the rest of the floors."

Gran Torino shot over to block the blonde student's way: "No, Bakugou. I am in contact with Tsukauchi! If they need help they will contact us, so stick to the plan!"

Then the doors to the loft were pushed open.

* * *

"You have truly surpassed yourself, doctor.", All for One gently caressed the surface of the desktop, "Thanks to your experiments, I probably won't even have to fight myself."

"What about the boy?"

"This is his last test. If he proves himself to me this time, it means he's ready."

 _Ready?_

"Kurogiri!", Sensei turned to him.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"It's time to head back to the tower.", his master really wore his most cruel smile when he said that.

 _Shigaraki Tomura. I hope you are ready. Sensei won't give you another chance._

* * *

 **Answer to BloodSucker:** Yeeess welcome to the angst! Thank you for your review : )

 **Answer to penameRinMay:** And I stopped doing whatever I was doing when a new mail came in, and then I saw this wonderful review! Thank you so much for your patience, chapters should come more frequently now : ) And I'm glad you like my portrayal of him because honestly, I am still struggling with not making him too ooc. I hope to see you around with the next chapters well!

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond:** More will come very soon : ) Sorry for making you wait so long!

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** You can't believe how fucking miserable I feel for making you wait this long! I hope you are still invested and promise to update more frequently now that I have more time. Lots of love and thank you again for always leaving these beautiful reviews!

 **Answer to D. :** Hello my dear and thank you so much for leaving a review! : )) It's a fic with happy ending, so I guess you can tell where it will go, although there probably will be an alternate ending, sort of "what could have been" (user HankFlamion18's idea!). Thank you for reading!

 **Answer to Sam Tammy:** Yeeess welcome to the angst! Thank you for your review : )


	19. Chapter XIX

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XIX – CHAOS SHALL PREVAIL**

 _If this.. just wouldn't sting like a fucking.._

The blood slicked through the fingers of his hands covering the wounds on his arms.

His vision was already spinning, _Are these heroes? I can't see shit. Damn, if a few cuts can take me down like that,.._

He suddenly couldn't move and looked down at himself, seeing that wooden ropes were seizing him.

 _Shit. Shit, shit, shit!_

"Tomura?", a voice he knew asked and his head shot up to look at the student that was slowly approaching him. _Midoriya Izuku? What is he doing here? Why is he approaching me? Hasn't he learned from the last time that I am dangerous? Why am I so confused?_

 _"I could be your friend!"_  
– Why of all the times did he think of those words now?

He wanted to crack one of his creepy smiled at the kid, but Gran Torino placed himself in front of the student, advising Midoriya to stay where he was. Tomura sighed, knowing what was coming.

"Shigaraki Tomura, you're under arrest. I suggest you cooperate."

"I'm not going back to Tartarus.", it was a subtle way of saying that he _wasn't_ going to cooperate.

"I'm afraid you don't have a say in this. You wi–", whatever the doddering old fool wanted to say to him was drowned by the increasing noise of the rotating wings of a helicopter which approached the building. Tomura's vision was still blurry, but he had no trouble recognizing the blonde figure that stood in the entrance of the flying machine, his blonde hair blowing in the strong wind – hardly believing what his eyes told him.

 _This can't be real._

"All Might!", Midoriya called and all the pro heroes just forgot about him and turned to look at the new arrival.

The skinny man jumped into the building, landing as elegantly as if that weak body had never been an obstacle. Shards of broken glass cracked as he walked over to them, never leaving Tomura out of his eyes.

 _All Might.. You came as well?_ That feral instinct inside of him told him that he to fight if he wanted to avoid going back to prison, but would be able to reject, if All Might asked him to?

"What the hell do you think you're doing here?!", the current number one, Endeavor, marched over to his predecessor who bluntly ignored him and instead headed over to Midoriya, placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Young Midoriya! Are you alright?", he asked. With the helicopter gone, Tomura could now hear him clearly – and he somehow sounded anxious.

"Eh.. Yeah? I don't understand, what are you doing here?", the freckled student asked, not noticing All Might's uneasiness. Not even the old man did.

 _Am I imagining things?_

"I don't understand what she meant..", All Might murmured to himself, barely audible but Tomura's ears definitely heard it. With exception of his vision, his senses were still sharp. The blonde then let go of his apprentice, now walking over to Tomura who forced himself to look away the moment their eyes met. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest, making it almost impossible to breath.

 _Whenever I meet you, I feel like I have committed another horrible act I have to justify._

"Tomura.", why was it that just by saying his name, All Might always managed to give him a feeling of home?

He shivered at the memories that suddenly crossed his mind; how All Might had wiped the blood of his mouth and helped him drink while he had been chained to a bed, back at the villain hospital. Or how the man had embraced him the very first time, trying to calm him when he had been on the verge of having a panic attack again, or how he had combed his hair(!)–

 _I cannot allow myself to trust him again. Too much has happened. I don't want to go back to Tartarus! I'd rather die!_

 _But he came._ , the voice in the back of his head opposed him with those thoughts he forbid himself, _He came for you._

Tomura bit his lower lip as that voice touched upon his most sensitive spot: _He wants to be your family._

 _"You can live with me of course. I own a house downtown. I thought about giving it away since it's way too big for me alone. But if you'd come to live with me, well.. we could use the space and you'd have your own room."_

But..  
What would he say?  
Would he scold him like a child?  
Would he push him aside again, asking him why he hadn't fled All for One?  
Or worse, why he had gone with him (Kurogiri) in the first place?  
That he had broken the trust of the authorities again?

He was ready for everything: He would tell him that he had never planned on spending his entire life in there and that All Might had been a fool to ever believe in him.

 _I need to keep him at a distance, or he will break me again._

Yes, he was ready – except for what All Might ended up actually doing. The man closed his arms around the seized young man, pulling him into an embrace and burying his face into Tomura's mop.

"I'm so glad you're alright!"

 _You forgive me? Just like that?_

And Tomura sighed, realizing that the man he was before had already been broken by All Might. This was a battle he had already lost.

 _How do you do this, All Might? How is it that when you believe in me, all my insecurities wash away?_

Even with all the heroes watching them, he wanted to cry. _Whenever you forgive me for all of my stupidities, I feel like I'm becoming human again._

The reunion didn't last long. Police men with helmets, shields and weapons stormed the loft, seizing the unconscious Toga, Twice and Mr. Compress with quirk-blocking handcuffs.

Tomura looked up at the taller man: "All Might. If you stay here, he will–"

One of the men ripped Tomura out of All Might's arms and pushed him onto his knees before he could finish his sentence.

"Wait–", All Might tried to stop him but the man rose his hand to interrupt whatever the former number one wanted to say: "You have no right to interfere here, All Might! Please stay back!"

It was a serious warning. It seemed that when it came to a villain like Shigaraki Tomura, not even All Might had much power.

 _All Might came, even if he wasn't allowed to. I need to tell him! If he stays here any longer, he will kill him!_

In the meantime, Tsukauchi, together with Ectoplasm and Vlad King, made their way into the loft.  
"All Might!", he heard Tsukauchi call him, "What are you doing here?!"

 _All Might isn't realizing that he is in danger!_

The police officer and detective stomped over to them, staring from All Might to the kneeling Tomura and back to All Might.

"You need to get out of here. Now.", Tsukauchi ordered. The leader of the mission seemed to be the only one who was still on guard; everyone else looked calm and relaxed, as if there was no greater threat than the League of Villains.

It was too late.

Suddenly, every single police man in the entire building let his gun or shield drop.

"Tsukauchi! What's going on? Tell them to take up their weapons!", the flames around Endeavor's body seemed to raise the temperature inside the room. It was hot, the air was suffocating and Tomura still felt like he couldn't breathe.

 _They're my enemies and yet.. why do I feel so dreadful?_

"Sensei. Please don't do this...", he murmured and hid behind the curtain that was his long hair. Whatever he said, nobody would listen to it anyway. This was the end for all of them.  
Multiple screams went through the rows of the special forces. More of the men screamed until it was so many of them, that Tomura wanted to rip his ears out. They pulled their helmets from their heads and fiddled around with their vests, trying to rip them off their bodies like it was burning them. The skins under their clothing turned into a fair green or dark grey or even pitch black; their eyes lost everything that was human while their teeth formed into those of a wild carnivorous animal – that was the moment their screams died in their throats.

"What is going on?!", Tsukauchi was suddenly shaking him, but not even Tomura knew what was happening, only that his master was behind it. He stared through the strains of hair into Tsukauchi's shocked face and shook his head.

"They..They're transforming!", Midoriya got back into a fighting stance, back to back with Bakugou who grit his teeth in either anger, desperation or both.

Tomura felt the branches that were seizing him loosen up as one of the men, if you could still call it a 'man', attacked Kamui Woods and bit into the hard skin with his new teeth.

Then dozens of police men, who had been standing outside, stormed into the big loft, squeezing through the entrance while saliva dropped out of their monstrously big mouths. It looked like something out of a horror movie, or like something out of one of those zombie games Tomura used to play on the rare occasion in what seemed like a lifetime ago.

"These guys are no longer humans! Defend yours–", Tsukauchi ordered but was interrupted when one of his former colleagues jumped onto him and forced him to the ground. That being grabbed the detective's head and smashed it repeatedly to the floor. Ectoplasm then kicked it away from him, but Tsukauchi was already unconscious, a pool of blood staining the floor.

"Tsukauchi!"

Midoriya and Bakugou jumped in front of All Might, fighting all of the attackers off successfully but Tomura could see that they were holding back, most likely sparing the men's lives in case they could still be saved somehow.

 _They are not human anymore! If they continue to fight like this, they will–_ , he interrupted himself from thinking further.

"We need backup!", Gran Torino screamed into his mic. He was probably the most skilled of them when it came to incapacitate the men without hurting them, and he took them out one after the other. Still, Tomura didn't see a bright future for them as long as the monsters were kept alive.

 _Is this really me? Is the only thing I can see white and black?_

The minutes passed extremely slow and no additional heroes came, probably busy with fighting off other human-Nomu-police creatures on the lower floors. The apartment was huge but with this many people in it, it was becoming suffocating. Because of that, the heroes with wide-ranged quirks like Endeavor and Bakugou had to rely on their physical strength only.

All for One's apprentice had not moved an inch since his master's new forces had attacked. He was free, no one was watching him, but his body was frozen on the spot. The new creatures ignored him; their brains now drilled to only attack and _kill_ heroes.

 _My mind is telling me to use this occasion to flee, but I can't stand up._ He placed his hands on either side of his head, trying to block out the world.

 _I don't know where I want to go, I am so confused!_

"Tomura!", All Might pushed himself through the chaos, his hand outstretched.

And the world around Tomura stopped.

 _Just like in my dream._ , he remembered, _They're kinda alike.._

And just like in his dream, Tomura had to make a decision.

 _What do I want in my life?_

 _"You don't have to hide from me, Tomura."  
"I thought it was because of Nana. But it's more: I wasn't there when you needed me."  
"I will never give up on you!"  
"I won't hurt you Tomura. And I won't allow him to hurt you either."_

All these words and many others that had ingrained themselves in his skull. All Might had always managed to say the things that got to him the most.

 _I don't know who I am or what I want! My head feels like it's splitting but.._

 _"It's alright now,_ ** _I am here._** _"_

He let go of himself.

 _I know one thing._

He reached for that hand, completely forgetting the war that was going on around them.

 _I know that I want All Might to be a part of my life again!_

Something crashed against his temple and everything became black.

* * *

Tomura's vision flickered. Sometimes he saw light, but mostly it was dark.  
Whenever it was light however, he knew that he was still alive and that he was lying on the floor, unable to move. What he didn't know was everything else.

How much time was passing? Minutes? Hours? Mere seconds?

Light. He could see a wounded Midoriya, barely able to stand against a figure in a suit and a life-supporting black mask, the kid's outfit now more dark red than green.

Darkness.

Light. Then he saw Bakugou, still relatively unharmed but breathing heavily.

Darkness.

Light again. Other heroes showed up, one of them he recognized from back at Kamino. Edgeshot was his name, he thought. The others he didn't know.

Every time Tomura was able to hold his eyes open for a few seconds, he also saw that the ground was covered in bodies. There was so much blood.

 _Are they all dead? Where is All Might?_

He couldn't assign the voices he heard. Someone called Dabi, another one Vlad King.

Where was All Might?

Tomura felt nauseous, but before his body would decide if he needed to vomit, everything went black again.

Warm.

 ** _"Tenko!"_**

A familiar presence.

 _Who is this?_

 ** _"Tenko!"_**

 _"Shimura Nana?"_

 ** _"Wake up!"_**

* * *

Tomura's eyes shot open.

The first thing he realized was that the headache from before had become a hundred times worse. Instinctively, his hand reached to support his forehead and was met with dried blood, sticking his hair to his face.

He slowly turned his head and the horror that presented itself sent a wave of fear through his whole body: The roof of the building they were in was half gone, the remaining cement above slowly crumbling. And nobody was standing any longer – nobody out of the surely over a hundred people except for five.

"Is that all you have to offer?", Dabi, one of the people still standing asked his opposite, Todoroki Shouto. None of the two was badly injured, but both of them were out of breath, even if Dabi tried to hide it by putting his hands in his pockets, standing there like he was bored. Behind Todoroki stood Midoriya, the skin of his right arm a deep purple. He also seemed to have an injury affecting his left eye, since it stayed closed. Right behind him, a still unharmed All Might was kneeling, holding an either unconscious or dead Bakugou. On the other side, Kurogiri stood next to All for One, both of them without a single scratch.

 _It looks like they've only just joined us. He let these guys do all the dirty work._

Tomura tried to get up but he was extremely dizzy and he tripped over someone.

"Shigaraki Tomura!", Kurogiri flew over to help him up, "Are you alright?"

Tomura looked at his servant's yellow eyes, focusing his vision until he felt that he could stand without the man's help.

 _Fuck me, how much blood have I lost?_

"Tomura.", All Might and All for One spoke simultaneously, as if fate was playing a bad joke on him. Even Dabi had turned to look at him with a condescending gaze, now that he had realized which hero he 'was taking a liking in'.

With every step that All for One's protégé took, pain shot through his head and his back and he felt like everything was about to become black again. What in the hell had crashed into him back there? He didn't even realize that he had walked to stand next to his master and when he looked at All Might, he was met with sad eyes.

 _I can't stand this._

"What the fuck happened? You're not in your wheelchair?", he asked and looked up at his master (purposely avoiding the gaze that All Might gave him), who in response put his hands on Tomura's shoulder and turned him around to look at their surroundings.

"Heroes are persistent little creatures, Tomura. Too many of them survived, even with the doctor giving it his all."

"The doctor.. did this?" All of it made sense now and although Tomura could not see his masters face, he had a feeling that the symbol of evil was smiling underneath that respiratory mask.

"He transformed those useless, quirkless fossils into a useful weapon."

"Don't you mean 'into monsters', All for One?", All Might corrected him and in response, Dabi shot a blue wall of fire at them. But Endeavor's youngest son blocked it by raising a thick wall of ice.

"Kurogiri. Where is Spinner?", All for One asked while Dabi and Todoroki continued to battle with fire and ice, none of them getting the upper hand. Midoriya didn't move an inch; he was only acting as if he had still any power left and All Might was no threat to them. Every hero was down; their last defences were an injured and a tired student, both of them with limited power and experience.

"It seems that he fled before the heroes attacked us.", Kurogiri admitted, "What a shame."

"You're wasting your life for them, for heroes that only care for how the world perceives them! For a father that abused you!", Dabi shouted over to Todoroki in a moment of quietness, when both seemed too tired to attack again.

"Why the hell do you care about my family?!"

"Haven't you realized it yet?"

Todoroki's face turned pale. He let his arm sink.

"This can't be real.."

An opening for Dabi to fire.

"TODOROKI!", Midoriya screamed as his classmate was thrown into the next wall. Another one down. Whatever that U.A. kid had realized in that moment, must have been a huge for shock for him to drop his guard at such a crucial moment.

"I have to admit, this one was pretty good. He managed to protect himself from the impact by building an armour of ice around his body.", All for One said and crossed his arms before continuing, "Too bad these children with their strong quirks and bodies have a weak mind."

"Shut your mouth! Todoroki is not weak!"

"Midoriya Izuku? The ninth successor of One for All. You courage is quite admirable; I have always thought that since the day at Kamino. Too bad Tomura wasn't able to kill you – which is why he will do it now. Tomura, finish them off."

"What..?", the young former villain's mouth let out before he could even process what he had just been told. He looked over to All Might, who was still kneeling and staring at him with.. fear?

"We're not going to play that game again, Tomura. Didn't you promise to me to be good?", his master reminded him of the conversation they had a few hours ago.

This was the point of no return. The road he had been walking his life now split into two directions: If he took the first one, he would continue to be a villain, continue to be a murderer and All for One's successor as well as the leader of the League. If he took the second road, he would get himself killed for not obeying.

 _I'm already fucked in the head. If I managed to do what he asks me to, it would take away the last of my sanity.  
I don't want to die! I want to see the things that All Might told me were worth living. And I don't want kill another person!_

He felt himself gathering all of his remaining strength. Adrenaline shot through his veins as he reminded himself of what he wanted. His path as a villain puppet was over, but he didn't plan on dying yet.

 _I want to explore a new way of life._

 _Will you help me, All Might?_

"I lied, old man. I won't do it."

 _It feels like.. I made this decision a long time ago._

All the weight on his chest was gone. At first, he felt as light as a feather, like a new born child without the weight of the world on him, but it was a freedom that didn't last too long. All for One wasn't happy with his decision and he wasted no time showing it.

"I will make you regret it."

He raised his hand, looking like he was about to shoot something at All Might and the students.

Before he could activate his quirk, Midoriya attacked. Blue lightning glistened around his body as he activated his Full Cowl and he kicked into All for One raised arm, stopping him from shooting his air cannon.

"MIDORIYA! NO!"

Jagged, black and red spikes shot out of All for One's hand, pinning the dark-haired hero to the ground. Upon seeing that, All Might let go of Bakugou and ran. It didn't matter to him that he couldn't do anything with that weak body – he let himself act on pure hero instinct!

But Tomura's teacher had no trouble pinning down All Might as well and when both the teacher and apprentice laid there in front of him, screaming in pain while All for One slowly tortured them to death, Tomura felt all the weight that had lifted from his chest and shoulders just a minute ago, crushing back down on him.

 _No. This can't be real. This can't be the end of this!_

 _No! No! No! All Might you can't die!_

 _I.. I need you!_

With his own hands, he reached for his master, completely ignoring that he didn't want to kill another person, but couldn't reach him as Kurogiri, with a quirk that was Tomura's natural opposite, protected the man.

 _I have my quirk back but it's useless to me! What do I do?!_ He took as step back and fell over something.

 _"Nana used to say that heroes do not only save other people's lives, but their spirits too. And that the people in this world who can smile are always the strongest. I want to see you smile too, Tomura. Not that villainous grin you gave me last time, a sincere innocent smile a young man like you should have. And no matter how much you're fighting it, no matter how much you hate me, I will save you from the darkness."_

 _You saved me, but I can't save you in return! Why am I not good enough for anything?!_

Tears gathered in his eyes: "Stop.."

"Stop!", louder this time, but All for One still ignored him, so he got back on his feet.

"Stop it!", Tomura screamed this time and although he had planned to put all his hate and anger into it, it was only desperation that was left and he ended up pleading, "Stop it, sensei! Please! I will do whatever you want me to, just–"

To the young former villain's surprise, All for One did stop the torturing and turned to face Tomura, slapping him to the ground. Had the man really slapped him that hard? Or did Tomura just have no energy left to hold himself up? He didn't know, but he was about to receive his true punishment, of that he was sure.

"Everything I want? Last time I asked you to kill that boy, you hesitated and then turned against me. Now, I just ordered you to kill All Might and you still refuse. I could just force you to do it, force you to live with that guilt until I can free you of those fabricated morals that they forced you to learn, until you are finally ready to inherit my legacy.", the way he said it Tomura was sure that one way or the other, his master would make him subdue again.

Tomura was wrong. All for One was done with him.

"But I have seen now that you are weak, too weak. The time in Tartarus has taught you _nothing_ useful. I overestimated you and I think I'd rather take my legacy with me than give anything else to you, Shimura Tenko."

He didn't have time to think about what his teacher meant when he said that, or when he called him that name, because the torture All Might and his apprentice had to endure, was now directed at him.

 _PLEASE NOT AGAIN!_

"There are two things I truly regret when doing this, Shimura.", All for One paused the torturing so Tomura could hear him, "The first thing is that I wasted more than fifteen years on you."

In the meantime, Tomura had gotten himself back on his feet again and stormed at the man with high speed, surprising even himself at how the adrenaline inside his body was enhancing his powers, but he was still too slow for the symbol of evil. The punch that he received to his stomach damaged his inside and forced him to vomit. Tomura hugged his body and fell on his knees, throwing up nothing but blood.

"The second thing I regret, even more than the first, is that witch Shimura Nana not being here while I kill her grandson."

His master kicked him and he fell onto his back, his lungs grasping for air but coughing up more blood whenever he tried to inhale.

 _I CAN'T BREAHTE!_

"You will regret every opposing me."

Then the spikes drilled into his body again.

* * *

Tomura screaming in agony was tearing All Might's heart apart.

 _I made a promise to Nana; that I would never give up on you!_

"Let him go!", he demanded from his archenemy. No matter how much he pulled at the last reserves of his strength, he had such trouble only getting on his knees.

"Oh, All Might, aren't you funny? His life is mine.", All for One was so sure of himself, he didn't even look at All Might.

Tomura dug his nails into his neck and scratched and tore at the skin. It was not possible to see if he caused additional wounds, his skin was already so dirty with blood. The screaming was occasionally interrupted by a pleading.

"Please! It hurts! Please!", he pleaded to the man, who he had been his teacher. He pleaded to a man, who had educated and trained him.  
Tomura pleaded to a man, who had raised him, to spare his life.

 _How must it feel for a youth like him to be tortured by the one man he used to trust the most? The man he used to follow everywhere?_

Only now did he realize how big the decision was that the kid had made, opposing the only family he had ever known almost all his life, to start a new.

 _I will not let you down!_

All for One pulled back his spikes and the young man, that was supposed to be the symbol of evil's successor, turned to his side with a shaking body. He looked like a scared cat, so tiny and vulnerable.

"Tomura..", All Might whispered, not able to hold back his tears.

 _No. Please, God, no..!_

The former pro hero didn't see it, but even Dabi and Kurogiri looked uneasy watching Shigaraki Tomura losing this fight. Saliva, mixed with blood, dripped from his open mouth to the ground as he slowly hugged his chest and his entire form positioned itself into one of a baby in the safety of his mother's womb.

"You are weak. I should have known the genes of that wretched woman would make you soft like her. Pathetic.", All for One's had no mercy with his own student, but someone kept him from ending the kid's life just now. One of his most devoted servants positioned himself in front of Tomura, protecting him from any more harm. The spikes didn't harm him when his warp quirk was activated and All for One stopped his torture.

"Kurogiri. What is the meaning of this?", All for One was surprisingly calm for being interrupted by yet another one of his followers from fulfilling his goal of killing everyone connected to the Shimura family.

"Please Sensei, reconsider! Shigaraki Tomura is still young, he is just confused!", the black mist tried to argue and somewhere deep in his heart, All Might thanked him for dragging this out a little longer. In the meantime, Dabi didn't look very comfortable with what was happening and retreated a few steps back.

All Might looked back at Nana's dying grandchild and stumbled over to the kid, kneeling before him. He leaned over to push aside the strains of hair that stuck right in front of Tomura's eyes.

"Cold..", Nana's grandson whispered with a shaking voice. Beneath the blood he was pale and so incredibly icy.

"Tomura.. hold on."

 _He needs first aid as soon as possible, or he won't make it!_

"I am not going to waste my time with these maggots any longer, Kurogiri. Now, get out of my way.", the man ordered and raised his hand to continue.

 _This is the end!_ , All Might pressed his eyes together, awaiting the final blow, _I'm sorry I couldn't save you guys!_

But something stopped it: "Detroit SMASH!"

All Might looked at whoever had saved them for another minute, not believing his eyes when Midoriya's punch evaporated One for All's attack.

"Young Midoriya!", he called but his protégé was completely exhausted and fell unconscious right in front of them.

 _He has used up everything he got to shield us from this blow!_

"Impressive, ninth wielder. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong side.", All for One arm transformed into a drill and he rose into the air, approaching them slowly.

All Might reached for Midoriya's hand.

He didn't bother to hold his tears back any longer: "Oh Midoriya, I am so sorry!"

At the same time, Tomura formed his last words: "All Might..I–..I.. would have liked to.. see your house."

All Might took his hand too and smiled.

"Tomura..!"

The once most feared villain of Japan smiled. A genuine, innocent, boyish smile.

"I feel.. human. Thank you.. for comin'.. back to me."

Everything was getting bright. Was this the famous light at the end of the tunnel? But All for One had not killed them yet, had he?

 _What is happening to us?_

 **"Don't fret, All Might. We're here."**

* * *

 **Answer to Villain-san:** Thank you dear~!

 **Answer to pename RinMay:** Aw come on now :'D so sweet!

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** Once again, I am so glad you like it. Although I wonder what you think about where it's heading when I seem to take a turn into the opposite direction every single time :D

The move was HORRIBLE. I work in a tyre manufacturing company and we had to move about 7'000 tyres. A few of them were those monsters meant for these huge harvester machines.

12 nephews and nieces?! That's great, I can only imagine those wonderful family reunions!

And regarding the money loss: yep, all these mobile phone companies are evil to the core, but it was admittedly my fault for not checking the invoices better. AAAAH I don't want to think about it, I'm already pissed off again!

I really hope you'll like where the story will go and how it will end. It won't be too long now. Until next time and take care of yourself! All the best^_^

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond:** Noooo the ending is at chapter 25! :D I can't wait to finish it! Thank you for being such a faithful reader!


	20. Chapter XX

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Boku No Hero Academia.

* * *

 **CHAPTER XX – FORGIVENESS**

" **Don't fret, All Might. We're here."**

 _What? But how? How can that be? Is it really you, are you really–_

"Nana?", his own voice was so weak, it was but a whisper. As soon as he had said it, he realized that the person in front of him wasn't Nana, it was a man. A slender one, his back crouched and his hair blonde or white or even grey, it was hard for him to see with his vision becoming blurry. With the way he was standing there, he somehow reminded the former hero of Tomura. But when the man turned to look at him, All Might could really see was Nana's face again. And then the face of another male he didn't know, just before it changed back to being Nana. It was like a glitch on a TV screen and he wasn't sure if what he was seeing was really happening.

"How–"

"So it is you, little brother.", his archenemy interrupted him. He raised his arms, as if he was waiting for the new arrival to greet him with a hug.

" **We are not your little brother, All for One."** , the being spoke with the voices of multiple people, though the only one All Might's could properly pick up was that of a woman, that of his teacher and predecessor Shimura Nana's.

"But I recognize your voice, my brother.", All for One insisted and lowered his arms, almost disappointed. Slowly, All Might was starting to understand what was happening. It seemed that while the symbol of evil could only see the first wielder of One for All, his brother, All Might was seeing the person he was closest too, his own teacher. Somehow, all of the previous wielders seemed to share one body and mind at the same time.

"How are you here?", the man finished All Might's original question, but the person standing in light didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he turned to All Might, Midoriya and Tomura, who were all lying behind him in a battered state. Midoriya unconscious, Tomura bleeding out, making All Might the only one witnessing what was currently happening.

" **The bundled power of One for All has summoned me."** , they said and first looked at Tomura, **"He carries the blood of her, a part of me. The past."**

Their eyes wandered to All Might: **"Symbol of peace: You are the present."**

Lastly, their gaze came at an end at the beat freckled teen: **"The ninth, chosen by the present: The Future."**

 _The moment our hands were connected!_

The being turned back to All for One and slowly started to walk towards him. Their steps were very slow, short and careful but even though their body looked physically weak, their whole presence radiated light and power. All of it was so pure and bright that All Might couldn't tear his eyes from them. Was he hallucinating or was this person, these _people_ , the real manifestation of One for All? Like a messiah, here to save them from the evil threatening to throw this world into darkness? Yes, their sole presence brought warmth into All Might's heart. He forgot he was tired and he suddenly felt younger and stronger than ever before. Without him realizing he stood up, taking in all the energy that was sent out by the predecessors. All Might felt himself recovering; he felt like he had been out in the cold for endless nights, tired with his bones hurting, but not able to fall asleep and waiting for the day to eventually come. And just when he was about to give up hope, the day was reborn and rays of light and warmth of an orange sun, rising behind a mountain so high it reached the sky, touched his face, filling him with new precious life. He took all of it in, accepted it without ever questioning. Nothing that felt like this could ever be wrong.

And apparently, so did his apprentice. Midoriya Izuku's physical exhaustion seemed to visibly erase from him and suddenly, he opened his eyes and sat up, looking around and not understanding what was going on.

"All Might!", he cried, but the man's eyes never left One for All and when Midoriya followed his gaze, the teen couldn't either.

"I.. why do I feel.. like I know you..?", he stuttered and stood up as well, accepting the wonder that was One for All.

When All Might finally managed to look somewhere other than at One for All, he almost believed himself back in a dream: The wound on Tsukauchi's head stopped bleeding. Young Todoroki's lungs filled with air and he awoke from unconsciousness. Gran Torino rose from the ground, not like an old man but a young child, full of energy. Endeavor, Bakugou, Kamui Woods – all of the heroes suddenly rose from their sleep, their wounds healed and they way they moved, it looked like that their strength had been restored as well. Whatever was happening didn't even stop when it came to the members of the League of Villains. Before One for All had reached All for One, everyone involved in this fight here on the top floor, was awake, confused and staring at that mighty being.

Everyone but those who had died. No, the dead remained lying: All the police men, who had turned into monsters (or "Nomus"), their lack of quirk making them an easy target for All for One, however he had managed to transform them. With them, the handful of pro heroes that had lost the fight against said monsters. And Shigaraki Tomura. That was the moment the magic in All Might's heart ended.

At the same time, Kurogiri placed himself in front of his master, just like he had placed himself in front of Tomura only a few minutes ago, shielding him from whatever may come from this strange being that had been walking towards them. But his warp gate did not have the usual effect: As soon as the walking manifestation of One for All touched the black and purple gate, Kurogiri felt his power being drained. He immediately retreated, hiding behind the form of his master, trying to convince him to give up: "We need to flee, Sensei! This.. person is dangerous!"

All for One dismissed his servant's word: "Are you joking, Kurogiri? This is my chance to get back at him. Him, my little brother, who is responsible for everything that ever got in my way. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be here right now."

The being only stopped a single step in front of All for One, both looking at each other in silence for two or three seconds before starting to float into the air, ascending into the skies and leaving all the people that been captured by the light behind.

Only All Might's eyes didn't follow them. He stumbled over to Tomura and fell to his knees.

"Tomura!"

He swung his arms around the young man's upper body and hugged him tightly to his chest. Tomura had been alive only a moment ago! Why, why, why! How could this happen?! All Might tried to feel for a pulse, for a heartbeat, but Shimura's grandchild gave no signs of being alive.

The symbol of peace didn't hear the people around him suddenly calling his name.  
He didn't hear the fight of the two mighty beings up in the air, just above them.

The only thing he heard was himself, calling the name of the young man in his arms.

"Young Tomura!"

" _You have to trust me."_

"Tomura!"

" _I will help you."_

"Please wake up!" _Please hear my call!_

"PLEASE!"

" _I will always be there, Tomura."_

"Please wake up..", All Might whimpered, but his calls didn't get to him and reluctantly, the symbol of peace was starting to accept it: That it was too late.

All Might's tears fell onto former villain's face, as he finally let them loose, running down the ragged skin around his eyes. Had it not been for the blood, Tomura would have looked like he was asleep. So calm and finally at peace.

All Might hugged Shimura's grandson tighter and closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him for good.

 _Forgive me._

 _I couldn't be there for you._

A picture.

A memory.

Tomura smiling. Not the villainous baring of his teeth, his real smile. The boyish grin he briefly showed without realizing when All Might had asked him about games.

 _I couldn't show you the world._

"All Might..", Midoriya pulled him back into the real world and the blonde understood. He gently placed Tomura's body on the ground.

 _In the end, I couldn't save you._

"Shigaraki Tomura!", Kurogiri suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pushed him aside. The fog man knelt down to his protégé, ripping out pieces of fabric from his vest and bandaging the young man's wounds on his arms, doing it in such a fast yet delicate way, that made it look like he was used to it, like he had been doing it for hundreds of times. Probably because he had – just how much pain had All for One really caused the boy?

The boy's devoted servant was trying to stop any further blood loss and though All Might doubted that at this point, it would be of any help, he didn't stop the man either. Did Kurogiri still not understand that Tomura was no longer with them? Was Kurogiri even able to understand it? What or who was he?

"You really care about Tomura?", it was more of a statement than a question, but All for One's follower answered nonetheless.

"My only purpose is to care for Shigaraki Tomura!", he said it like he was trying to justify himself.

 _Just who are you really?_

"All Might!", Midoriya called him once more and when All Might turned to look at him, he faced them all.

"All Might. We need to fight.", Endeavor said and they purposely ignored Kurogiri and the other members of the League. They could deal with them later; this was about the real threat.

"There's time to grieve after we win, Toshinori.", Gran Torino added and All Might knew he was right, but..

He turned his head to look at Tomura, Kurogiri at his side softly trying to wake him by calling his name, again, again and again..

 _Why should I fight? It's obvious I can't save anyone. I couldn't save you.._

" _ **Do it, Toshinori!"**_ , the voice hit his mind like a lightning.

 _Who–? Nana?! Is that you?_ , he looked up into the sky, where All for One was attacking One for All. They dodged the attacks targeted them and whenever the king of evil tried to provoke them by aiming at other buildings of the city, One for All blocked and absorbed those hits. But he never hit back.

How many innocent people must have gathered watching to see what was happening on this mission? All of them were in danger as long as All for One was breathing.

 _This can't keep going like this! I need to do something!_

" _ **Use the power I've given to you."**_

 _What are you saying?_

" _ **Use it! Be proud, Toshinori! You weren't born with it, you've fought for it!"**_

 _I can't! I can no longer use the power of One for All! If I do, my body will give up before I can even reach them!_

" _ **You can! Trust me! Trust**_ **us** _ **!"**_

All Might looked down at his own hands, feeling the warmth of the power he once held, starting to boil inside his blood. Could it really be, that..?

 _I couldn't save him, Nana.. Your grandson.._

" _ **Trust in the power of One for All and you will see the miracles it can create."**_

Had she ignored his apology or did he just not understand what she meant by those words? He looked back to the other fighters and it seemed as if they were waiting only for him.

"Let's go, All Might. Let's do it for him! For him and everyone else!"

"Yes, young Midoriya. Let's go!"

* * *

Void.

 _Another dream? Or is this another memory? Where am I this time?_

It was cold.

" _Is someone there?"_ , he called and added, _"Or am I truly dead this time? 'Cause I'm really getting tired of these trips down memory lane."_

For a few seconds, it was quiet. Not even an echo resonated in this darkness.

Eventually she spoke: _**"You're not dead. Not yet."**_

He knew that voice, that presence. And then she was in front of him, a tall woman with wide shoulders. Her hair long and black, her eyes grey – Tomura's polar opposite. Who would ever believe them to be related?

She wasn't solely a presence like the last time, but here in front of him in what looked like flesh and blood.

Once more, her hand stretched out to him.

This wasn't their first meeting but Tomura discovered that whenever he saw or felt her, he perceived her as the ideal of a human. She seemed so strong in body and mind and.. whatever she gave of; it always confused _him_. He saw her and felt ashamed for what and who he was, or rather forwho he had _become_. How could someone like him be her legacy?He wanted to deny her, to reject her hand again and at the same time.. he would follow her to the end of the world, wanting to learn from her experiences, wanting to hear her story. What was it with people like her and All Might, that they managed to bring the light into the dead heart inside his chest? What was this curiosity? It was so unlike him! Was this the true power of One for All? Or had his master just blinded him to how wonderful people could be, when you opened up to them, even just a little? That it wasn't only pain they could cause you?

" _Then where am I?"_

" _ **The spirit realm. Where the souls of people wander, who are neither alive nor have died. Where the people of One for All reside until our power is longer needed. Until the world is at peace."**_

He chuckled. World peace? What a childish dream.

She hadn't quite answered his question, so he rephrased: _"What am_ I _doing_ here _?"_

Shimura Nana smiled and placed the hand she had been offering on top of his head, ruffling his hair. Why was it that everyone around him still saw him as a child, even if he was over twenty years old?

" _ **Can't you feel it, Tenko? Can't you feel the power of One for All's origin running through your veins?"**_

He furrowed his brows.

" _I don't understa–"_

" _ **Close your eyes. Feel it, beating like another tiny heart inside your own. Open up to it, let it in: Accept it."**_

What did he have to lose? Tomura did as she told him and he closed his eyes, focused and tried to ignore the cold and void around him, to just listen to whatever was supposed to be inside him.

And truly, there was something. Something foreign that hadn't been there a moment ago. Or maybe it had been there and he hadn't noticed. But since when? And why? The only event where he could have gotten this was when his master had given him back his decay.

" _What is this?"_

" _ **It's his quirk, Tenko. The power your teacher wielded for over a hundred years. He trusted you with it."**_

" _How– but why? I betrayed my master, I betrayed All for One!"_

" _ **He trusted you. But you made the right decision not to trust him."**_

Yes, he had made that decision deliberately, but hearing it like this he couldn't help but feel like a coward. And a traitor.

" _ **All for One and One for All are the two different sides of the same coin. This means that now, you are one of us."**_

He didn't grasp her words before falling to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes and all of his emotions floating to the surface. But he held them back; no way was he going to cry in front of her _again_!

" _And what use is this power for me if I can't help him?! If can't help All Might?"_ , his fingernails dug into the skin of his neck, _"What am I doing here? I don't want to be here! Why am I always so weak? Why am I so useless?!"_

How many times had the symbol of peace helped him now? He had come back to him after all that had happened. Tomura remembered the pillows, and the books and the shoes: It wasn't so much about the gifts themselves than about what they told him: From the very first moment, even before Tomura had been brought to Tartarus, All Might had watched him and started to care.

" _ **You are wanted, Tenko."**_

Once a feared criminal, he now cowered here in the darkness, alone.

 _If I am truly wanted, why am I still so alone?!_

He didn't care if she saw him like his. He just wanted to be free of this pain that was breaking him apart. He just wanted to be at All Might's side!

His grandmother knelt down in front of him and gently removed his hands from his neck, forcing him to look up at her.

She smiled.

" _ **Tenko, listen to me. Everything I did, I did for your father and therefore for you."**_

He wanted to break free from her grasp at these words. Would she say the same things if she knew that it had been him? That _he_ had killed his father, her son? Like others before her, she would push him aside, reject him before he could reject her and although he wasn't walking among the living anymore, he wouldn't be able to deal with this hurt again. If she would reject him, then..

Before he could think any further of what would happen to him if she did that, her strong arms clutched and pulled him to her and with a sad voice, she whispered the words he had longed to hear from someone, anyone, since that fateful day: _**"I know. And I forgive you."**_

No longer did he hold back his tears.

Was this was closure felt like? Freedom?

Tomura raised his arms and hugged her back, closing his eyes and cherishing this moment for as long as it went.

 _Thank you._

His grandmother then slowly pushed him away.

 **" _This is the only time I can do this. Even the powers of One for All have their limits. So don't die on me – keep on living."_** , she wiped the tears away from the ragged skin around his eyeswith her gloved hands, _**"Never forget who you are. Farewell, Tenko."**_

Before he could oppose, she was gone and he was falling.

* * *

Tomura's eyelids shot up.

"Shigaraki Tomura!"

"Kuro..giri?", he asked and slowly sat up, immediately feeling the stinging in his arms. They were bandaged with a fabric he recognized to be from his former servant's vest and he smiled. After all of that had happened, Kurogiri was still doing these things for him..

"Shigaraki! Are you alright?", Mr. Compress asked as he ran over to them.

"Tomura!", like always, the blonde girl kept calling him by his first name despite him never agreeing to it.

"Shigaraki! I'm so glad you're alive! _Why not just die you punk!_ ", Twice's split personality, charming as always.

Those he once had called his comrades joined them, all of them but Dabi, who was busier watching the fight going on above and around them. And who probably didn't care about him or the League anyway.

even friends?

But..

He would never lead them again. He had walked the path of a villain his whole life. Now, it was time for a different route.

Tomura raised himself from the ground that was covered with shards and chunks of cement.

"The League of Villains is no more."

"What are you saying, Shigaraki? What about Stain's will?!", Spinner grabbed his shoulders and forced him to turn and look at him, at all the members of the League.

He shook his head, freeing himself from Spinner's grasp and looked up into the sky. And then his eyes met hers. Or his. Theirs.

Their presence was like the one he recognized to be his grandmothers but at the same time, it was like All for One's.

Then why did he feel like he was watching into a mirror?

The being smiled at him and then, before All for One could hit them, dissolved in a bright light that showered them in a rain of billions of tiny white stars.

He accepted it. He breathed it and like the dead lying around them, he felt his own awakening.

 _I am alive._

* * *

 **End note:** **Originally wrote a huge text with thousand excuses on why this is late but we all know how life can be. I am going to finish this.**

 **Answer to Villain:** SAME

 **Answer to HankFlamion18:** aah I hope you're still around here. I always love to read your reviews!

 **Answer to Galaxy diamond:** aww~

 **Answer to Ansley:** Ok sorry for taking so long, so first congratulations on becoming a mother! And second, I am currently involved in a huge project in my company, so updating this as frequently as I hoped or even adding a schedule is going to be impossible. Sorry!

 **Answer to Guest:** aww~ *gives handkerchief*

 **Answer to That One Draconequus:** Glad you like it and I hope you're still around

 **Answer to The Violent Kurumi:** Thank you! Yes I will finish it :0)

 ** **Answer to** fanakatsuki: **here it is : )


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